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While there is currently no mandate in place regarding wearing mouthguards in basketball (even in the NBA), it is something you should take seriously to protect yourself against dental injuries. Much focus has been put on the use of mouthguards in contact sports but accidental contact can cause catastrophic injuries too. It’s important to note that young people are at the greatest risk of dental injury in sports and leisure activities and should be protected against unnecessary damage. Let’s take a closer look at the question ‘do you have to wear a mouthguard in basketball”.
The Case For Wearing Mouthguards
You wouldn’t ride a bicycle without a helmet. You wouldn’t play cricket without protective padding. But each year, thousands of people are treated in emergency rooms around the country because of dental injuries sustained in sports. While basketball isn’t one of the contact sports, accidental contact and falls without contact can cause a dental injury if you don’t wear a mouth guard. It’s a fast-paced and highly competitive sport and accidents happen, even if you don’t play the NBA. Most of these injuries are preventable by a very simple piece of equipment: a mouthguard.
What Types Of Injuries Can Be Prevented By Wearing Mouthguards?
Dental injuries are expensive to treat and some of them can cause permanent damage. Some of the most common that can be experienced when playing basketball include
- Cuts to the lips, tongue and cheeks
- Chipped, broken and knocked out teeth
- Broken jaws
- There is also evidence to suggest that if you wear a mouth guard you have some protection against concussion.
Some youngsters will be at greater risk of sustaining a dental injury because of protruding front teeth or if they wear orthodontic braces. Playing basketball puts them at risk of a fall or collision with other players. The only real downside to wearing mouthguards is that they incur an extra cost. But the cost of a mouth guard is significantly lower and less traumatic than treating any of the dental injuries listed above. When a mouth guard is custom-fitted for you, it
- Allows normal speech
- Does not interfere with breathing
- Does not cause a gag reflex
All of these features support a competitive game of basketball and can enhance your performance during the game or practice session. In order to offer maximum protection, the mouth guard should be custom-fitted by your dentist. It should have a minimum thickness of 4mm and fit snugly against your teeth to absorb the impact of a collision. A high-quality, custom-fitted mouthguard acts as a shock absorber for the teeth and jaw and can save you against pain, damage, and trauma. Wearing a mouthguard should feature as mandatory safety equipment for basketball players where a player is at risk of injury. Even though the answer to ‘do you have to wear a mouthguard in basketball’ is ‘no’, it makes sense to err on the side of caution and take that extra step to protect basketball players. For assistance with a fitting or to find out more please give us a call: Buderim: (07) 5317 1023 Caloundra: (07) 5315 8076
REFERENCES
Why do NBA players wear mouthguards https://www.quora.com/Why-do-NBA-players-wear-mouthguards Do you have to wear a mouthguard in basketball https://sport-topics.com/do-you-have-to-wear-a-mouthguard-in-basketball
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