The real cost of insufficient protection during sports

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  Posted by: anna.lambert      22nd September 2017

The cost of a good quality mouth guard is nothing compared to the cost of loosing a tooth. Every sporting situation where a player’s face might come into contact with a hard object – whether that be another person, their fist, a bat, racket or stick, ball or the concrete / tarmac ground – presents a risk to the teeth and gums.

While mouth guards are mandatory in competitive contact sports, many people don’t appreciate the full importance of the devices and so will often choose not to wear them. The dental team has the ideal opportunity to help educate patients and their parents on the dangers of sports and the benefits of effective protection for the teeth and gums.

One of the major barriers to mouth guards – especially for parents buying devices for their children ad young adults perhaps living on their own for the first time – is cost. Many will select the cheapest option in order to comply with the rules of their sport, but give little consideration to what they are actually purchasing.

When talking to these patients, it’s important to demonstrate the full potential cost of not wearing a mouth guard. For example, if a player has a tooth knocked out during a game, they will require dental treatment to replace it. This might involve simply reinserting the avulsed tooth – or more extensive treatment could be required such as dental implant therapy and or further restoration, the cost of which would be significantly higher than purchasing an effective mouth guard in the first place! Further still, there would be the cost of on-going maintenance of any treatment delivered, in some cases, lasting a lifetime.

If such treatment is not financially viable for the patient or their parents, the subsequent emotional or psychological considerations for someone left without a tooth could be considerable. One study found that 47% of those surveyed needed more than a year to accept their tooth loss, with 6.3% still coming to terms with it after this time.[i] The research also suggested feelings of sadness and depression were fairly common among this group of respondents. Such emotions could have a knock-on effect on the person’s social life, especially if the missing tooth is in the anterior region – low self-esteem could cause them to shy away from public interactions, having an impact on their everyday lives.

Further still, it’s important that patients realise the importance of a high quality device. A cheaply-made, poorly-fitting mouth guard might do little better than no mouth guard at all in protecting the teeth and gums during sports. Solutions such as the Saber Protect custom-made mouth guards from CosTech Dental Laboratory offer outstanding protection for patients – regardless of their age, the type of sport they play and the competition level they play at.

When it comes to safety in sports, quality protective equipment is essential. In many sports, this includes a well-fitting, quality mouth guard, which will promote comfort and facilitate communication while also protecting the teeth and gums. Help your patients appreciate the cost of not wearing the right mouth guard to keep them safe on the sportsfield.

 

Saber Protect custom-made mouth guards are fabricated by CosTech Dental Laboratory. For more information, please visit

www.custom-mouth-guards.com.

[i] Okoje VN, Dosumu OO, Alonge TO, Onyeaso C. Tooth loss: are patients prepared? Niger J Clin Pract. 2012 Apr-Jun;15(2):172-5. doi: 10.4103/1119-3077.97305.

 


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