Novocastrians love their sport! But in the heat of competition, no one wins if you come away injured just ask the big guys at The Newcastle Knights!! And with sport and leisure activities being the most common cause of dental injuries, think of a mouthguard as a stack hat for your teeth. This is why The Good Dentist, Newcastle, creates custom-fitted mouthguards.

Mouthguards Help Protect From Injuries

Impact to your face and mouth is not just painful, it can cause serious damage and require long-term rehabilitation. Custom-fitted mouthguards can prevent cuts and bruising during impact, cushion the teeth, reduce soft tissue injury, help prevent jaw fractures, and protect against lacerations of lips and cheeks.

Sports mouthguards have been shown to help protect against a variety of injuries including:

Tooth fractures, chips, or breaks
Dislodged teeth
Teeth grinding
Cuts, bruising, or swelling of lips, tongue, and cheeks
Jaw fractures that can lead to TMJD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder)

Dental Mouthguards versus Other Mouthguards

here are three common types of mouthguards you can choose from:

1. Dental Mouthguards

Custom-fitted dental mouthguards are individually moulded to the wearer’s unique anatomy by a dentist or dental lab technician. The process involves taking a digital scan of your teeth.

Custom-made sports mouthguards don’t slide around during activity, causing discomfort or aggravation. They are made to fit comfortably and snugly over your teeth, ensuring that they do not shift around during use.

If you have had previous dental injuries such as a chipped tooth, a mouthguard fitted by a dentist factors this into the creation for superior fit and protection.

2. Stock Mouthguards

Stock mouthguards come preformed in standard sizes that are bought over-the-counter at most sporting goods stores or chemists. While these are less expensive mouthguards, they also offer the least amount of protection.

Stock mouthguards tend to fit poorly and feel uncomfortable because they don’t take into account differences in jaw size, tooth structure, and other unique features of your mouth. Also, if it’s annoying to wear, you’ll tend not to wear it, defeating the purpose.

3. Boil and Bite Mouthguards

Boil-and-bite mouthguards are thin pieces of thermoplastic that mould to a person’s teeth after being softened in boiling water and then biting on the guard. The fit is okay, but may not conform accurately to the shape of a person’s bite and can be uncomfortable to wear. Typically, a boil-and-bite mouthguard doesn’t last longer than a season.

Kids Mouthguards

Sports mouthguards should be worn by children, teenagers, and young adults who participate in contact and non-contact sports – not just footy, netball, and hockey, but running, gymnastics, and skateboarding, etc. The Good Dentist, Newcastle, are expert children’s dentists and can fit kids’ mouthguards, and junior mouthguards for active kids.

We also fit bruxism night guards for kids who grind their teeth in their sleep.

The Good Dentist excels in custom mouthguards for a variety of protection. Feel free to call our friendly team on 02 4929 6007 to book an appointment to purchase your custom mouthguard in Newcastle.