13 Reasons Why Your Mouthguard Should Spook You
It’s almost Halloween — the scariest, spookiest and most terrifying time of year!
It’s almost Halloween — the scariest, spookiest and most terrifying time of year! Time for jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, ghosts and ghouls; but, if you don’t have a custom mouthguard, the most ghoulish thing you’ll see this October 31st is in your gym bag.
Let’s take a look at 13 reasons why your outdated mouthguard should spook you:
1. As an athlete, you have a 33-56% chance of receiving an orofacial injury — an injury to your mouth or face — during your playing career. That’s particularly true (and scary) if you play a contact sport.
2. Over 5 million teeth are knocked out each year during athletics and recreational activities. You’ll look just like that pumpkin you carved!
3. A broken or damaged tooth means lifelong maintenance, appointments and surgeries with a lifetime cost of approximately $20,000 — and that’s to replace just one tooth!
4. If you have braces, generic mouthguards are more a trick than a treat. Your braces mouthguard must be designed to allow both tooth movement and growth, have enough room to not irritate your brackets and wires and all while having a tight comfortable fit.
5. While there have been advancements made in the materials used; the design of the bright orange boil-and-bite mouthguard in your bag has gone unchanged since the 1960s. Would you trust other protective equipment that hadn’t been updated for over 50 years?
6. Mouthguards that offer the proper protection and comfort are pressed at 120 lbs per square inch using heat and pressure for a more intimate fit. When fitting a boil-and-bite mouthguard, your mouth is only able to apply 7-9 lbs per square inch of pressure.
7. When your mouthguard doesn’t fit correctly it causes problems, such as the inability to breathe, speak or drink clearly — which is frightening because that means you are not performing at your peak.
8. Poorly fitting mouthguards also cause sores. Sores mean your mouthguard isn’t comfortable, which means you aren’t wearing it properly, which means you aren’t protected. Oh, and sores also give bacteria access points into your body, which could lead to illness.
9. Have you ever lost your generic boil-and-bite mouthguard (maybe on purpose)? Unlike your lucky trick-or-treating pillowcase, your generic mouthguard has little value to you.
10. Mouthguards that are too thick or bulky because of too much material have a habit of causing gagging. Just like gross Halloween candy.
11. Just like cheap vampire teeth, boil-and-bite mouthguards are easily chewed through and destroyed, due to their poor design and engineering.
12. While ripped and torn might be good attributes for a Halloween costume, they are very bad for mouthguards. Rips and tears have the ability to cause gum and tissue irritation, which in time may become infected.
13. While not inherently scary — since they provide the proper protection and comfort expected of custom team gear — custom mouthguards are still able to send a chill down the spine of your opponent with fang logos and other designs.
Ghosts, Ghouls, Goblins — nothing is scarier this Halloween than the terrifyingly outdated mouthguard in your bag. Spook your opponents, not yourself.
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