Summer Sports and Mouthguards: A Parent's Guide

Why summer, specifically

Ask any pediatric dental office when the "we chipped a tooth" calls spike and you'll hear the same answer: summer. School-season sports come with coaches, rules, and often mandated gear. Summer is freestyle — bikes and skateboards, pool decks, trampolines, pickup basketball, camp games, travel tournaments — and the mouthguard usually stays home. About one in three kids will take a dental injury by adolescence, and the front teeth take most of the hits. The gear that prevents the worst of it costs less than a tank of gas and lives in the equipment bag.

Which activities earn a guard

The obvious ones: baseball and softball (batting and infield), basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, football, martial arts, wrestling. The under-appreciated ones: skateboarding, mountain biking, trampoline parks, and any camp with a "gaga pit." A useful rule: if the activity involves a ball, a board, wheels, or other kids' elbows, the mouthguard comes. Swimming gets a pass; the pool deck's slippery concrete does not get a helmet exemption for the bike ride there.

Choosing the guard

Stock guards (wear-as-is) fit poorly, get chewed, and get left in pockets — skip them. Boil-and-bite guards from the sporting-goods store are the practical floor: molded at home, real protection, cheap enough to replace when outgrown or chewed flat. Custom guards, made from a scan of your child's teeth, fit precisely, protect most reliably, and — because they're comfortable — actually get worn; they're worth it for serious or multi-sport athletes and for kids who've already had one dental injury.

Braces change the answer: a guard molded tight to the teeth can lock onto brackets. Kids in braces need an orthodontic mouthguard designed to sit over hardware — ask us and we'll set your child up before the season, not after the collision.

If the hit happens anyway

Know the two-line protocol cold: a knocked-out permanent tooth is a race — handle it by the crown and get to us immediately; a knocked-out baby tooth is never pushed back in. For the complete step-by-step, read our emergency guide before you need it, and save our number in your phone tonight: (201) 345-3637 — for urgent injuries, call any time.

Questions parents often ask

At what age should mouthguards start?

As soon as organized or collision-prone play starts — commonly age five or six. Baby teeth matter too; trauma to them can damage the permanent teeth forming underneath.

How do I get my kid to actually wear it?

Let them pick the color, fit it well (comfort is compliance), and make it a non-negotiable like the helmet. Custom guards win this battle most reliably.

How often does a guard need replacing?

Whenever it's outgrown, chewed thin, or no longer snug — for growing kids, often each season. Bring it to checkups and we'll grade it.

Sources

• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, policy on prevention of sports-related orofacial injuries
• American Dental Association, mouthguard patient education
• Academy for Sports Dentistry, protective equipment resources

Gearing up for camp or travel ball? Add one stop — call (201) 345-3637 and we'll fit the guard before the season's first pitch.