Winter Weather Should Be The Only Thing That Gives You The Chills

December 21st is the official start of winter — otherwise known as the time of year when you are sure to get the chills.

But you know what shouldn’t give you the chills? The safety and protection of your athletes. When it comes to protecting your players, anything other than a custom mouthguard should give you the chills. Let’s find out why:

1. Cold Hard Injuries…

Your athletes have a 33-56% chance of receiving an orofacial injury — an injury to the mouth or face — during their playing career. That makes having the proper protection that much more important.

What should give you the chills is that approximately 5 million teeth are knocked out annually during sports and recreational activities. So while it may be good to be a dentist or the tooth fairy, it’s not great to be an athlete’s mouth. Or a parent’s wallet…

2. …Cost Cold Hard Cash

Broken arms and legs heal. ACLs are repairable. A broken tooth lasts forever.

If your athletes sustain a broken or damaged tooth, they’re signed up for a lifetime supply of dental visits. That’s because the maintenance to keep a replaced tooth healthy never ends and a broken tooth does not heal itself like a broken bone does.

With a lifetime need for maintenance, appointments and surgeries, the lifetime cost to replace just one tooth is approximately $20,000. And that should chill you to the bone.

3. Pressure Matters

Much like melting icicles in the winter, boil-and-bite mouthguards don’t stay in one place and are constantly falling, thanks to a design that hasn’t changed since the 1960s.

Because the mouth is only able to apply approximately 7-9 lbs per square inch of pressure when fitting a boil-and-bite mouthguard, your athletes are unable to capture a proper impression of their mouth. That means their mouthguards aren’t in the right place at the right time. And that leaves them susceptible to oral injuries.

Mouthguards of the 21st century are pressed at 120 lbs per square inch using heat and pressure, which allows for a more intimate fit and proper protection.

4. Custom Is The Recommended Fit

If your mechanic recommended new snow tires and brakes for your safety in winter weather wouldn’t you be sure to add them?

Well, custom mouthguards are recommended by both the American Dental Association and the Academy for Sports Dentistry, as they are 1000% more protective that any other type of mouthguard. And they outlast generic-made boil-and-bite mouthguards 5-to-1!

5. One Size Does Not Fit All

Generic boil-and-bite mouthguards are like winter coats; bulky and uncomfortable. Much like your puffy down-feathered coat, boil-and-bite mouthguards are too cumbersome to be comfortable. That’s because they’re designed for one size fits all.

Except that all mouths are actually unique. And that means mouthguards designed for everyone are actually designed for no one. When a mouthguard isn’t produced taking into account each athlete’s individual mouth structure, they have extra material in areas where it isn’t needed.

That bulkiness blocks air flow, inhibits speaking and drinking and may be a major distraction on the field, court or ice. And the only thing that should take your athlete’s breath away is the sub-zero air.

Warm Up The Winter

Author Bio

Bobbie Quinn, co-founder of Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, played both lacrosse and field hockey as a youth and went on to play Division 1 women’s lacrosse in college. Bobbie continues to play women’s league field hockey and enjoys watching her son play various sports.