Free Custom Mouthguards

Wilmette-Kenilworth, IL – What would happen if you lost a tooth, especially a front one? Would you hide your smile for a while? If you’re involved in sports, especially high contact sports, and you don’t wear a properly fitted mouthguard regularly, your chance of serious injury to your teeth or mouth is pretty high.

“I often see sport-related mouth injuries that could have been prevented with a mouthguard,” says Kenilworth orthodontist Dr. Michael Stosich. “A properly fitting mouthguard should be as important to your game as your helmet, stick or glove.”

While mouthguards are often common place in physical sports, such as ice hockey, lacrosse, boxing and football, the American Dental Association recommends even those involved in just recreational activities wear mouthguards. If your activity could pose any risk of injury to your mouth, a mouthguard should be worn. This includes high contact sports, as well as activities such as gymnastics and skateboarding.

How to choose a mouthguard

But when it comes to choosing a mouthguard, how do you know you’re choosing the right one?

There are three types – ready-made, boil and bite, and custom-made by a dentist or orthodontist. You want the highest level or protection possible, which means avoid the sporting goods stores and head to your orthodontist or dentist office.

“The mouthguards made in my office are much better because they are made specifically for your mouth,” says Dr. Stosich. “Each one is custom-made for the athlete, so we can tailor it to your needs and your sport to ensure the highest level of protection possible.”

In one study of high school students, 75 percent of injuries occurred when mouthguards weren’t worn. And forty percent of those happened during basketball and baseball games, not usually on the list of mouthguard wearing sports.

“I know how important mouthguards are to protecting our athletes,” says Dr. Stosich. “That’s why my office, iDentity Orthodontics, is committed to giving away custom-made mouthguards for our area’s young athletes.”

As an orthodontist, Dr. Stosich regularly treats patients who have suffered injuries from playing sports. But knocked out or broken teeth aren’t the only thing mouthguards prevent.

A 2014 study by the Academy of General Dentistry found that custom-made mouthguards can help protect against concussions. The study found that high school football players who wore a store-bought mouthguard were twice as likely to experience a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion as those who wore custom-made mouthguards.

“I can easily fix teeth that became misaligned by a puck to the mouth,” says Dr. Stosich. “But every day when we read the sports section, we continue to hear about how concussions suffered by professional athletes have led to long-term health issues. If a custom-made mouthguard can provide any extra level of protection against concussion, I want to ensure our area’s young athletes have access to them.”

Mouthguards are essential to the safety of any athlete, and Dr. Stosich wants to be sure that young athletes in the Chicago area are properly fitted. To reserve a spot for your young athlete, simply call iDentity Orthodontics at 844-644-SMILE and your child will be one step closer to a properly fitting mouthguard and increased safety while playing. Dr. Stosich wants Chicago athletes to play with intensity, but without compromising their safety.