The benefits of playing a team sport as a child are numerous: increased ability to work within a team, physical exercise, fine motor skills, development of strength in bones and muscles, and improved self-image. Soccer is a particularly popular sport among families, and many children participate in it. Though soccer is technically a non-contact sport, many children who participate in the activity can experience impacts and injuries. Unfortunately, these injuries can affect the teeth. Luckily, children can avoid, to some extent, these consequences by using sports mouth guards.
Sports mouth guards can protect against a variety of soccer-related injuries and accidents, such as:
– Collision with another child
– Impact from the soccer ball hitting the face
– Falls and collapsing on the field
– Impact with the goal
– Grinding teeth during gameplay
– Goalie-related injuries while diving for the ball
Sports mouth guards can not only prevent many of the dire effects soccer injuries have on the teeth, but they can also save parents thousands of dollars on dental-related costs. Parents know that the best way to ensure a child isn’t injured is prevention. If a child does not have protection for their teeth, the worst-case scenario may occur.
Over the years, our experienced orthodontist in Dallas has seen kids with a variety of sports-related injuries, such as:
– Chipped teeth
– Ground-down teeth
– Bitten tongues
– Bitten cheeks
– Broken or injured jaw
– Damage to braces or other existing hardware
– Head trauma that affects the mouth
If you’re concerned about the level of impact on your child’s sports field, it’s important that you talk to the coach and the school. High levels of competition may not be appropriate for young children. That being said, accidents do happen, and your child will encounter unknown competitors on the other teams. It’s rare that another player will intentionally hurt your child, but accidents can also sustain lasting harmful effects. This is why it’s important that in addition to shin guards, cleats, and a jersey, your child also has a sports mouth guard.
Although sporting goods stores sell mouth guards, it’s your best bet to procure a custom-fitted mouth guard for your child. Get started by talking to our team at Ragan Orthodontics in Dallas. Contact us today to book an appointment.