Sports Dentistry

Dr. Ross Simonds is a member of the Academy of Sports Dentistry and has been “team dentist” for local high school and club sport athletic teams as well as the Empire (formerly Spokane Shock) professional arena football team since 2006.

Dr. Simonds is passionate about the use of custom-molded mouth guards in the prevention of dental injuries in today’s athletes and active individuals. Injury to one tooth early in life can cost the patient upwards of $10,000 per tooth during their lifetime.

Some sports that require mouth guards:

Basketball, football, lacrosse, hockey, soccer, baseball and softball—especially infielders and pitchers—karate, boxing, mountain biking, skiing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, jet skiing and skateboarding.

   

ANY SPORT THAT CAN INVOLVE THE TEETH IMPACTING AN OBJECT OR TEETH SLAMMING TOGETHER.

Early introduction to the use of a custom-molded mouth guard is essential in preventing dental injuries. As the professionals in these sports make it “cool and normal,” kids are much more willing to protect themselves. As parents, we need to enforce this usage for their protection.

Over-the-counter mouth guards provide a false sense of protection and are considered to be of little to no use when tested in comparison to custom-fit guards.

The advantages of a custom-molded mouth guard are:

~Remains in place and fits tightly to the teeth
~Material is of proper thickness
~Allows for better breathing, resulting in better performance 

Just like seatbelt usage took a while to catch on, mouth guards are now the standard of care and protection for most sports. From beginners to pros, we all need to be protected.

The traditional “boil and bite” mouth guards are slowly becoming a thing of the past as athletes and parents become more knowledgeable about the importance of a properly fitted custom mouth guard in the prevention of dental injuries.