A mouthguard is tailormade to you. It provides a protective cover which fits exactly over your teeth and gums to cushion and protect your teeth, gums and jaw from damage. Our Jones Dental & Implant Clinic orthodontists are expertly trained to craft the most comfortable mouthguard for your needs.
It is advisable to wear a professionally made mouthguard if you play sports such as rugby, cricket, hockey and football. Impact to the face, either from a ball or another player, can cause shock waves to travel through your jaw leading to bone damage, or a direct hit can shatter or chip a tooth. In fact dental injuries are a common occurrence in these kinds of sports. A mouthguard will not help prevent chipping or breaking teeth as a result of impact, it will act as a shock absorber to help protect against a painful broken or dislocated jaw.
Mouthguards can also be custom made to wear at night if you are susceptible to clenching or grinding your teeth (bruxism). A mouthguard will not cure your bruxism, but if you have come to your Jones Dental & Implant Clinic dentist for guidance and advice on teeth grinding, they may offer a mouthguard as a method to provide relief from the pressure and the sound while you explore the causes. The application of a mouthguard will even out the pressure across your jaw as well as provide a barrier between your bottom and top teeth. The soft material means that it reduces wear on your teeth and also helps to diminish the grinding sound.
You may also require a mouthguard for some teeth whitening treatments.
Your Jones Dental & Implant Clinic orthodontist will make your mouthguard to fit the exact shape of your jaw, ensuring that it stays in place comfortably, provides maximum protection and lasts for as long as possible.
Your local Rugby dentist will take an impression of your teeth from which to make the finished guard. This first impression is used to make a complete plaster cast model of your jaw, gums and teeth that the dental laboratory technicians will use. They shape the mouthguard material around the model to create a part that fits snugly over either your upper or lower teeth. The expert technicians will use the model to make sure that the bite is as comfortable as possible, and make small adjustments until the mouthguard is at a stage ready to be delivered to back to Jones Dental & Implant Clinic where you can pick it up. Your mouthguard will come with care instructions and a container to protect it when you are not wearing it.
A strong, durable mouthguard could last you years but, of course, the lifetime of your mouthguard depends on how well you care for it, and whether it takes any blows from your sporting activities. On average a mouthguard will last around six months to a year. If your teeth are still moving or coming through, then it is important to get your mouthguard replaced more regularly to ensure that it fits correctly.
Your mouthguard can be made out of see-through plastic, so that it is near invisible, or you can have it made in a colour of your choice. Sometimes sports teams have their mouthguards created in team colours.
Your temporomandibular joint is the hinge that connects your jaw to your skull. Around 30 percent of adults experience pain in this joint at some point in their lifetime, and your Jones Dental & Implant Clinic dentist can help with this.
Snoring may be a commonly dismissed problem, but it can be tackled professionally by your Jones Dental & Implant Clinic dentist. Snoring can lead to stress and excessive tiredness, and longer-term health concerns.
If you're ready to book an appointment, get in touch today.
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