It’s time for summer sports - so don’t let an injury spoil your fun!  Protect yourself and your children with a mouth guard. A mouth guard acts as a cushion and will help to prevent a tooth from being knocked out or fractured and prevent trauma to the soft tissue and jaw bone. By absorbing the shock of a blow, the mouth guard may also help prevent a concussion of the brain or dislocation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). A mouth guard is required for several sports: field hockey, football, ice hockey, lacrosse and boxing. It is also recommended for many other sports, such as baseball, basketball, racquetball and soccer.

There are several types of mouth guards. The least expensive is a Stock Mouth Guard, usually bought at a sports store. This type of pre-formed appliance is bulky and it cannot be adjusted. It fits poorly and it can easily be dislodged. Another type of appliance is the Boil and Bite appliance. It is also relatively inexpensive and fits better than the stock appliance. But it deteriorates over time and the fit is still not the best.

I recommend a Custom Fitted Appliance for my Long Island dental patients who are athletic. The custom appliance has the most accurate fit and it is the most comfortable. It also provides the best protection and is the most durable. In order to provide this appliance, I take impressions of the mouth and my laboratory fabricates a custom mouth piece.

Mouth guards should only be worn while playing sports. Check the mouth guard for damage after you wear it. If it is damaged, it should be replaced. Don’t chew on the mouth guard. Keep it clean with toothbrush and toothpaste so there is no bacteria buildup. Have a safe and happy summer!

An excellent article about teeth grinding and clenching titled ‘Dealing with the Nightly Grind’ appeared in today’s New York Times. The article links an increase in teeth grinding to the increased stress felt by middle aged men in this recession. Normal chewing places 68 pounds of pressure per square inch on the molar teeth but grinding can place 900 pounds of pressure on the teeth!  Traditionally it is predominantly women who seek treatment for bruxism, but those of us in the dental profession are struck by the recent increase of men seeking treatment.  Normally 10-15 percent of the population grinds their teeth.

I will usually ask my East Setauket dental patients if they are sleeping well. I ask if they have headaches. I will ask if they bite their tongue or if the muscles around their mouth feel sore.  Tooth grinding, also called bruxism, can break teeth or loosen them and might feel like a toothache.  Tooth grinding can often be prevented with an occlusal (night) guard that we make in our dental office. But a patient may not know that he is grinding or clenching. A dentist who has training in occlusion or esthetics can see signs of tooth wear that the patient may not be aware of. I will take photos of the teeth to point out the wear patterns on a patient’s teeth.

Sometimes a patient is not concerned and doesn’t want to wear a night guard. This presents a problem. Click on the mouth guard link in this website for a photo of severely worn teeth. This patient refused to believe that he had a problem and wouldn’t wear a nightguard – but he is silently grinding his teeth down to the gumline. Don’t let this happen to you!