Put your money where your mouth is
WITH the winter sport season fast approaching, the state’s peak dentistry body is urging Dubbo sporting clubs to make mouthguards mandatory.
Australian Dental Association NSW (ADA NSW) president, Dr Michael Jonas, said thousands of people were treated each year for dental injuries which occurred while playing sport.
“These can need time off school or work to recover from, be seriously painful and disfiguring or may involve expensive or even possibly a lifetime of treatment,” he said.
“Wearing a mouthguard custom-fitted by your dentist while both training and playing sport is an easy and safe way to help protect against these injuries.
“Not only does it help protect your teeth, but it can also help prevent jaw fractures, lacerations and other severe cuts and wounds too.
“ADA NSW urges all Dubbo sports clubs to register for our national branch’s No Mouthguard, No Play policy, make mouthguards mandatory and help best protect their players this forthcoming winter sports season.”
Dubbo Family Dentists recommend that a custom-fitted mouthguard be worn “whenever you or your child is playing a contact sport”.
“Custom-fitted mouthguards are the only safe mouthguards,” the practice states on their
website.
While rugby league, rugby union, AFL and hockey players should all wear a mouthguard while playing and training, Dr Jonas said anyone who played a sport where accidental collision or contact to the face can occur
should wear a mouthguard.
He added the mouthguard should be made by a dentist.
“Self-fitted, over-the-counter mouthguards, including what are commonly known as boil-andbite mouthguards, should not be used,” Dr Jonas said.
“A mouthguard custom-fitted by your dentist is far superior to an over-the-counter mouthguard.
“It is specially designed to fit the exact contours of your mouth, is resilient, balances your bite and allows speech and normal breathing.
“If properly used, stored and checked by your dentist every year, a custom-fitted mouthguard should last several seasons.
“Prevention is better than the cure, so ADA NSW urges all participants, no matter what their sport, to obtain a custom-fitted mouthguard from their dentist and ensure they’re playing it safe for the winter sports season.”
z There are about 70,000 potentially preventable hospitalisations for dental injuries every year in Australia. Sports-related injuries account for almost 40 per cent of dental injuries, yet only 36 per cent of Australians wear a mouthguard during contact sport.
z A mouthguard is cheaper than an injury – a custom-fitted mouthguard starts from $69, considerably less than replacement teeth. A small chip to a tooth can cost between $150 and $200 to repair, and an implant to replace a knocked out front tooth can cost more than $4,500.
z A custom-fitted mouthguard helps absorb and spread the impact of a blow to the face, preventing jaw fractures, facial lacerations, concussions and base of skull injuries.