What are mouth guards?
If you are involved in martial arts or other sports during which you might receive contact to the mouth, it is essential that you protect your teeth by wearing a mouth guard. A blow to the jaw would cause the upper and lower teeth to come into contact, and thereby damage your teeth. A number of different types of mouth guard are available and some fit well and are comfortable. Custom-made units, available from most dental offices, are generally more comfortable and therefore are more likely to be worn. The bottom line is if you play any contact sport, get a mouth guard you can wear and wear it.
Mouth guards are dental products designed to provide at least partial or in some cases even adequate protection to the soft and hard internals of the mouth. The hard internals of the mouth include teeth and jaw bones. The soft internals of the mouth include lips, cheeks, tongue, and gums. Mouth guards are mainly used in aggressive sports activities. Such activities include boxing, rugby, basketball, football, ice hockey, martial arts, wrestling, field hockey, soccer, and water polo. Mouth guards are made of plastic though there designs may vary greatly. Some are categorized under stock, some under boil and bite, and some others under custom. Even the composition of the plastic used may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Various fabrication methods for the manufacture of mouth guards are used. The advantage of wearing a mouth guard is that it can help to provide protection against tooth fracture, tooth dislocation and jaw bone fracture.
