Missing teeth can be a cute and fun stage for kids. For adults, losing teeth can be unsightly, uncomfortable, affect our ability to eat and overall health, as well as be very costly to replace. Taking care of our teeth with diet and good oral hygiene is a part of preserving and maintaining our teeth, but our part in protecting our teeth does not stop there.
Our teeth take a lot of abuse on a regular basis, but not all abuse is necessary, and much abuse can be minimized or prevented entirely. If action is not taken to prevent trauma to our teeth, it can result in pain, discomfort and possible tooth loss. Depending on the source of anticipated trauma, there are two main types of appliances that can and should be used to help protect our teeth. These fall under the categories of Mouthguards and Nightguards.

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MOUTHGUARDS

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When playing sports it is very easy for accidents to happen. Even in low contact, or no contact sports, it is still possible to receive some kind of trauma to the face. In general, people often think of mouthguards for sports like boxing, hockey, and football. But even in sports like soccer, basketball, and baseball a mouthguard can help protect your teeth and save you from costly dental bills. For example, I have seen, and experienced myself, playing baseball and someone tries to catch a bouncing ball, and it hits a rock and shoots straight up to catch the person in the face. In many sports, it could be a flailing elbow that catches you in the mouth to knock out some teeth. In some cases, tripping and landing face first on the pavement causes the problem. So if you are in any kind of sports, I strongly recommend you get a custom sports mouthguard by contacting us today (do not buy a store-bought, pre-fab appliance). For more details, and examples of customized mouthguards made at My Family Dentist, check out the dedicated custom mouthguard page.

Custom-Nightguard

Nightguards

Many people fall victim to the damage caused by clenching and grinding, including me. Clenching and grinding our teeth puts excess wear and tear on both the teeth and their support structure. This can contribute to gum disease, tooth mobility, the premature breakdown of fillings, tooth fracture, tooth sensitivity, jaw/joint pain, and headaches. To help protect the teeth an appliance can be worn during the day or night that takes the pressure off the teeth and their supporting structures as well as the joints of the jaw. Although these appliances do not directly solve the source of the problem, they definitely help with the symptoms and damage caused by the habit and can reduce the frequency and intensity of the habit. So if you have any of these symptoms, a custom nightguard like the one shown to the right may be the right thing for you, so contact us for a consult. Unfortunately, just like mouthguards, there are prefab versions of these on the market, but should not be used prior to consulting your dentist, and likely will not provide the same level of protection and comfort as a professionally made custom nightguard.