When do you need to wear a sports mouthguard? Perhaps the answer seems obvious—when you play football, rugby, or hockey. Or when you practice martials arts, wrestling, or boxing. In these scenarios, you predict you’ll be struck in the face at some point, and it’s smart to prepare for it with an impact-absorbing appliance to protect your teeth. Otherwise, you could lose teeth in your smile and have a lot of pain! Other than these more obvious situations, what are other sports where you should wear a mouthguard? Keep reading to find out!
Basketball
Basketball is not designed to be a contact sport, but it happens all the time. Competitors jump to rebound the ball, and elbows can happen to hit someone’s face unintentionally. If you watch professional players, many of them wear custom mouthguards for these kinds of scenarios. Instead of getting injured and having to rush to the dentist with a chipped or knocked-out tooth, players can continue to compete! In this case, following the example pros have set can help you stay healthier and safer in your own games.
Soccer
Like basketball, soccer isn’t meant to include a lot of contact; in fact, many players feign injuries and fouls to try to get an edge on the other team. However, if referees do not call legitimate offenses, aggressive contact can build and have disastrous results for a player’s smile. A custom mouthguard can absorb a facial hit and preserve your precious pearly whites while enjoying the most popular sport in the world.
Parkour
Experienced parkour video stars make this activity look easy and natural, but for most participants, it’s just plain dangerous. If timing is off, you could easily end up faceplanting on the ground with a knocked-out tooth or worse. Should you ever have the desire to try parkour tricks you see on TikTok or YouTube, make sure you wear a mouthguard to protect your smile from potentially irreversible damage.
Skateboarding or Biking
During a casual ride on your bicycle or skateboard, you hopefully never will encounter a serious accident, but especially if you would like to learn pro tricks, falls are practically inevitable. Other than your protective helmet, a mouthguard should be one of the pieces of essential safety equipment you wear before you attempt anything at the skate park.
You can’t always anticipate when accidents or dental emergencies will happen, and even with the best preparation, you may still experience one. However, being proactive in potentially risky situations with a mouthguard can reduce your chances of serious pain and having to deal with a stressful, avoidable dental emergency.
About the Practice
Williamsburg Dental has locations in six areas of the Lincoln area, which means no matter where you are in the city, we should have a dental office and proficient dentist nearby. If you have a dental emergency, we accept same-day appointments and are dental insurance friendly, but we also strongly encourage prevention. As a result, we can happily provide a custom mouthguard that fits more comfortably and stays in place more securely than store-bought versions. To order one, you’ll need to contact one of our locations for an appointment.