Our Dental Blog

Playing sports is a great way to stay in shape and improve heart health. However, lack of proper protection for your smile means an increased likelihood of chipped or cracked teeth. To protect your smile, and to also address common oral health issues, your Kansas City, MO, dentist may recommend a custom-made mouthguard.

Creating Your Mouthguard

A mouthguard covers your teeth and helps protect them from injury. While you can purchase a simple boil-and-bite option from any sporting goods or big box store, these don’t offer the same level of protection as a custom-made option. To create them, we will take a series of detailed impressions and images of your smile. Using the information, we will design a guard that fits your smile specifically, providing more secure protection and limiting the risk of chipped or cracked teeth.

Addressing Injury

Now remember, if your tooth should still sustain an injury, let us know, even if no damage is apparent. Dental fractures are often invisible to the naked eye. Any chips, no matter how minor, also need attention. Damage to the outer enamel means bacteria can often gain access to the sensitive inner portions of dentin, which means a cavity can form and unless treated, an infection can follow. You then develop painful tooth sensitivity and toothaches as the health and stability of your smile is threatened. Take steps to prevent injury, and when injury does occur, always make time to see us for an exam!

TMJ Disorder and Bruxism

A custom-made mouthguard also addresses common oral health issues. For example, TMJ disorder develops when your jaw joints undergo excessive strain, leading to headaches, jaw pain, facial discomfort, or popping and cracking in the jaw. Over time, this impacts how easily you can open and close your mouth. To reposition the jaw joints and ease pressure, we may create an oral appliance that fits like a mouthguard but repositions the jaw.

Bruxism, or chronic teeth grinding, could be the result of stress, tooth loss, injury to the face or jaw, bite imbalance or dental misalignment. Over time, the pressure from grinding and clenching your teeth could wear down enamel or even damage them. An oral appliance repositions the jaw to help prevent grinding and clenching, and also provides a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent further injury. If you have any questions about our custom-made oral appliances, then please contact our team today.

Ready for Custom Smile Protection?

We can create a comfortable and custom oral appliance to safeguard your smile and address common jaw joint disorders as well. To learn more about our preventive treatment options, then please schedule a consultation by calling Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.