Macomb County MI Dentist Discusses Athletic Mouth Guards

Hi. My name is Dr. Robert Antolak over at the Gentle Dentist in Shelby Township, Michigan, in Macomb County. And today, I want to talk to you a bit about sports related injuries due to lack of mouth guards use. I play hockey on a regular basis. I probably play 3 to 4 times per week and it’s a contact sport. And what I do is I use an athletic mouth guard like this. I made this here. It’s custom made. You take an impression of the top jaw and put it in a lid you don’t even know I’ve had it in your mouth and so it’s like this. It fits like this and what it does is it creates a nice cushion for when the lower jaw hits the upper jaw. Not only does a well-fitted mouth guard that you can use for athletic, it goes up around the teeth to not only protect the teeth in case the teeth get hit, it distributes that force. But also, one of the most important parts about a mouth guard is that it helps to reduce the possibility of concussions.

In athletics, concussions are a major thing and we want to do whatever we can to prevent that. And how this works is many times concussions take place when the lower jaw hits the upper jaw. So, you’re falling and boom, it hits the jaw and this allows a little bit of resiliency and some cushion when that lower jaw hits traumatically to the upper jaw so it doesn’t rock the brain.

We recommend the customized ones because they are very comfortable and fit. You don’t even know you have them in your mouth. I can tell you that personally since I do use it. You can get them at the stores, Under Armour makes them and they’re a very good brand. So you can do a whole array, but the important thing is to wear something in your mouth that’s comfortable that you can take care of your teeth and take care of your brain.

If there are any questions about that, we’ll be free to answer those questions. It’s around $80 to have a custom one made or if you buy them at the store, I’m not sure exactly the price is but probably $20 or $30 if not less.  But the key is, is to have it comfortable so that you can wear that function fine and make sure you can breathe adequately, that type of thing.

Macomb County MI Dentist Discusses Athletic Mouth Guards

So, give us a call if you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like to inquire about having one of these made. Our phone number is 586-247-3500. Thank you.