Sports Dentistry and Custom Mouthguards

Dr Harper has a special interest in sports dentistry and how sports drinks and other aspects of sporting performance affect oral health. Whether you are part of the Melbourne football scene or just playing local basketball around Richmond we believe a custom-fitted mouthguard should be an essential part of your sporting kit.

At Richmond Fine Dentistry, we want to ensure that any sport participants are aware of and have access to the best mouthguard and trauma treatment available. Properly diagnosed, designed and custom made mouthguards are essential in the prevention of athletic oral/facial injuries.

Sports Mouthguards

At Richmond Fine Dentistry we specialise in custom sports mouthguards.

Custom-fitted mouthguards are different

A custom-fitted mouthguard is constructed directly from a mould taken of your teeth in the dental surgery and fits tightly and comfortably over your teeth. This type of mouthguard is the type recommended by the dental profession and sporting authorities and is the most effective in preventing injuries to the teeth and jaws. A properly fitted mouthguard must be protective, comfortable, resilient, tear resistant, odourless, tasteless, not bulky, cause minimal interference to speaking and breathing and the most important criteria have excellent retention, fit and sufficient thickness in critical areas.

With a Richmond Fine Dentistry mouthguard you will be able to speak and breathe easily. You won’t lose it because we embed your name or phone number in it and provide a protective carry case. We also tailor a mouthguard to grow with a child so you do not constantly need to replace it when their teeth change so quickly. We can also work around braces – you still need to wear a mouthguard despite having braces.

Not just protection for teeth

A mouthguard is not just to save your teeth from sustaining an injury. A correctly fitted sports mouthguard will protect your entire mouth by cushioning a blow and distributing the force of the impact, helping to prevent jaw fractures, and reduce neck and muscle injuries that can occur when your lower jaw is unexpectedly forced into the upper jaw.

When should a mouthguard be worn?

We recommend wearing a mouthguard during any sport where there is the chance of a knock to the face.

Mouthguards should be worn during all competitions as well as during training sessions, as this is when many injuries occur. This should be stressed to children in junior teams.

Though we often think of protecting permanent teeth, a mouthguard is just as important for children to protect their developing teeth and facial bone structure. If your child’s tooth is fractured, knocked out or they receive a jaw injury, it may result dental complications that require extensive long-term restorative treatments.

Store-bought DIY mouthguards

The “do it yourself” sports mouthguards available at many pharmacies are usually poorly-fitting and uncomfortable to wear. These types of mouthguards can impede your ability to talk and breathe easily and cause gum irritation as they do not provide a snug fit. Because of this discomfort, children are less likely to comply with wearing them, and often fiddle with during play. Sporting authorities do not recommend these as they offer little protection to the teeth. Patients are encouraged to obtain the custom-fitted guard.

Our Erkodent mouthguards

We make our mouthguards in house and have invested in technology to make high performance mouthguards. We tailor our mouthguards to your particular sport – different thicknesses and styles work better for different sports. At Richmond Fine Dentistry we use and recommend the new ERKODENT lite pro laminated sports mouthguard. The lamination process enables thin, strong mouthguards which aid breathing and speaking.

Colours are also available along with plain white, which is the most popular.

Mouthguards for orthodontic patients

If the child is in the middle of orthodontic treatment, they may be encouraged to avoid contact or collision sports for the duration because of the potential of lip lacerations. However, there are ways of making mouthguards that still fit reasonably well if sport must continue. Using our Erkodent technology, we can make a mouthguard to fit with braces.

Your smile is your most important asset and should have the best protection possible. Talk to one of our team today about the new Erkodent Lite Pro Laminated Sports Mouthguard.

Caring for your mouthguard

• Clean your mouthguard in warm soapy water (not hot) after every time you wear it to prevent the build-up of bacteria.
• Store your mouthguard in a plastic container that has several holes so it can dry completely, this will prevent the bacterial growth.
• Do not leave you mouthguard in direct sunlight or in a car, as heat can warp it out of shape.
• Do not chew on the edges, twist or bend your mouthguard as this can alter its shape and prevent it from fitting snugly over your teeth and reduce its effectiveness.

Contact us today for more information or to book an appointment for your custom-fitted sports mouthguard in Richmond.