Mouth guards are generally small plastic appliances that safely fit around your teeth. Mouth guards provide valuable protection for the jaw, face, tongue, lips, and of course, teeth. For example, a traumatic blow to the front of the face can not only tear soft tissue or knock out teeth, but also may force the lower jaw into the upper jaw. A mouth guard can help keep your teeth from tearing the soft tissues of your mouth during a traumatic injury. And in all cases, mouth guards can protect you when you're wearing bridges or braces. 

Mouth guards also can help prevent a whole host of traumatic injuries to the neck and jaw, as well as more serious problems such as cerebral hemorrhages and concussions.

Types of Mouth Guards

Mouth protectors come in basically three different types or designs:   

• Custom Made- Formed by our dentist from a cast model of your teeth with correct occlusion. These custom-made guards are designed to cover all the teeth and are shown in the literature to be the best type of protection Custom-made mouth guards may be more expensive than commercially produced mouthpieces, but they offer the best possible fit and protection and are the most comfortable.
  
  
  
  Playsafe Mouth guards®  
  
  Pressure-formed, multi-laminated Playsafe Mouth guards® are prescribed for both professional and amateur athletes because they offer the highest level of protection. They have a competitive advantage over store bought boil-and-bite types because they are custom made to provide superior fit and retention to the patients unique oral structure. Playsafe is available in five levels of protection and many different color options for individuals or teams.
  
• Mouth Formed- These guards are generally made of acrylic gel or thermoplastic materials shaped to fit the contours of your teeth. They are placed in boiling water then attempted to be formed and molded to the teeth. They are commercially produced and do not offer the same fit and protection as a custom fitted mouth guard made from a model of the mouth.
  
• Ready Made Stock-  The least expensive, but also the least comfortable and the least effective protective mouthpieces. They are pre-molded mouth guards you typically find in point-of-sale aisles at sporting goods stores. They offer no attempt at fit whatsoever and are not recommended in the dental literature.

Use of non-custom fitted mouth guard can cause problem called Mouth Guard induced malocclusion.

Call for Appointment for your custom mouth guard (909) 945-2002

Care for Your Mouth Guard

Your mouth guard needs to be cleaned (usually with warm soap and water) and allowed to air dry after each use. You also can soak your mouth guard in an antiseptic mouthwash to help remove many kinds of germs.

If you don't regularly clean your mouth guard, bacteria and other germs will grow on the device and enter your mouth the next time you use the guard, making you vulnerable to infections.