Contact sports are a great way for children to exercise agility and strength, but for many children, this also means wearing a mouth guard. This is typically an area that many kids resist and parents get tired of fighting, but it is a battle that is well worth not giving up. A mouth guard serves many purposes that can not only save your child's teeth, but potentially saves you money by reducing the chance of sport induced injuries. If you are struggling to get your child to wear one during sports, try providing these simple reasons.
SafetyA mouth guard does more than protect your child's teeth. While teeth are important, your child's mouth and jaws also need to be protected. In the case of serious impact, your child's teeth could cause serious injuries of the jaw or soft tissue that could take weeks to heal, and even cause them to stop playing sports for a while.
Prevent Dental EmergenciesIf your child had the chance to avoid going to the dentist, they would probably jump at it. This is the goal of the mouth guard, to prevent dental emergencies from occurring. If your child is resisting wearing a mouth guard, explain to them that it could prevent an emergency visit to the dentist as well as invasive procedures from needing to be done. Sometimes this is enough to convince anyone to wear their mouth guard.
A RequirementIn some cases, whether it is a specific sport or a specific league, a mouth guard is a requirement to protect the safety of the players as well as to keep the insurance premiums of the sport at a minimum, which is an easy way to convince your child to wear one.