Heading Out For Winter Sports Fun? 3 Ways Mouth Guards Can Protect Your Dental Implants

Posted on: 24 November 2017

If your winter is going to involve some outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowboarding, or even mud football, you're going to need some protection. Helmets, gloves, and knee pads go a long way towards protecting your body from injuries while you're busy enjoying yourself. However, if you haven't taken steps to protect your mouth, you could be at risk for some serious dental injuries. Before you get involved in the outdoor activities this winter, stop by your dentist and get fitted for a custom mouth guard. Your custom mouth guard will provide you with the following safety benefits.

Keeps Your Dental Implants Intact

If you have dental implants, you need to take extra precautions to protect them from damage. Your implants may be attached to your jaw bone, but that doesn't mean they're impervious to damage. In fact, impact during sports activities could cause implant loss. That's why you need a custom mouth guard from a dentist like John P Poovey DMD PC. The mouth guard will form a protective seal around your teeth, protecting them from an impact that could lead to implant loss.

Protects Your Soft Tissue

If you have dental implants, they can cause just as much damage to the soft tissue in your mouth as your natural teeth can, especially during an impact accident. Without a mouth guard, your implants could bite right into your tongue, lips, or even the inside of your cheeks. This type of accident could leave you with significant soft tissue damage. By wearing a custom fitted mouth guard, the soft tissue inside your mouth will be protected against injury should you sustain an impact accident to your face or mouth.

Prevents Jaw Injuries

If you have dental implants, you need to protect your jaw. That's because all the hardware that's used for your implants is connected directly to your jaw bone. Significant damage to your jaw could break your implants off at the post or weaken your jaw bone to the point where the structural integrity of your implants are jeopardized. However, when you wear a custom mouth guard during sports, your jaw is cushioned, protecting it against injuries. This cushioning effect also protects your implant system.

If you have dental implants, make sure they're protected this winter, especially if you're a sports enthusiast. Talk to your dentist about having custom mouth guard made for you. It's also important that you talk to your dentist about other ways to protect your dental implants this winter.