Mouthguard Matters – Get the Real Facts from the Experts

An open letter to parents trying to decide if a custom-fitted mouthguard really is worth it from Wear a Mouthguard founder Dr Caitlin Oakley

Dear parents,

Breakfast, pack lunches, school drop-off, work, basketball training, dinner, dishes, homework, housework, sound familiar? I know how time-poor we parents are!

But I beg you, please take a few minutes to read this blog before choosing to ‘protect’ your child’s precious teeth with an inferior mouthguard from the chemist (as a dentist and parent of two sports-mad kids, I’m seeing too many dental, facial and head injuries in young sports players, injuries that could be avoided with a custom-fitted mouthguard)

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Safety – as parents, it’s one of our primary concerns for our children.

The simple act of wearing a custom-fitted mouthguard while playing sport will mean our child is at least 60 times safer. [1] That’s 60 times, not 6 or 10, but 60! Yet, only 1 in 3 children wear one while playing sport.[2]

Often this is because they have an uncomfortable ‘boil and bite’ mouthguard that is not as effective or safe as a custom-fitted one from a dentist.

Recent media reports have highlighted the horrific injuries incurred when a custom-fitted mouthguard is not worn during contact or collision sports such as soccer, basketball, football and hockey.

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Need a new mouthguard but don’t have any time to go to the dentist? Join us at The Rings basketball stadium (Canterbury Road, Ringwood) on Sunday 8 November between 9am and 12.30pm for a fitting.

No bookings are necessary and your mouthguard will be made by our team of dental professionals and available for collection within 7 to10 days!

Mouthguards start from $69 and can be claimed back from private health insurance funds meaning you may not be out of pocket.

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If you’ve Got Teeth and play a contact sport or one with the possibility of an impact through a fall or collision, then you should be wearing a custom-fitted mouthguard! It’s that simple.

Don’t worry; we have heard all the excuses as to why people put off getting a custom-fitted mouthguard ….. ‘I haven’t got time to go to the dentist!’ ‘It’s quicker to get one at the chemist.’ ‘Basketball is pretty safe!’ The list goes on ….

But here’s the rub – you only get one set of teeth so why take the risk?

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Will your club say ‘No Mouthguard, No Play’ this season?

Sporting clubs around Australia are being encouraged to protect their players and sign up to the new ‘No Mouthguard, No Play’ policy, an innovative collaboration between the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and Sports Medicine Australia (SMA).

According to Dr Peter Alldritt, Chair of the ADA’s Oral Health Committee, every year thousands of people are treated for dental injuries that could have been avoided by wearing a protective, custom-fitted mouthguard.

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Bonjela, teething rings, Panadol and frozen flannels to chew on –  when our children were teething, we did whatever it took to help their baby teeth through as painlessly as possible.

So why are so many parents allowing their child’s precious baby teeth to be unprotected when they play sport?

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