BDHF Promotes Mouth Guards Following Kate Walsh’s Olympic Injury
The British Dental Health Foundation is urging people who participate in contact and ball sports to wear mouth guards. The charity is using the injury sustained by Great Britain’s hockey captain, Kate Walsh, as a reminder of the importance of mouth guards. The skipper suffered a jaw injury and was forced to have surgery, causing her to miss one of the qualifying games; without a mouth guard, the injury could have been a lot worse.
Sports injuries are a major cause of dental emergencies and the BDHF is advising parents to get their children kitted out with a mouth guard before the new school year begins. Dentists can custom-make mouth guards in a range of colours and designs and the procedure is very quick and simple. Mouth guards should be worn for sports such as boxing, hockey, lacrosse and rugby.
Karen Coates, Dental Helpline Adviser for the BDHF, said that mouth guards prevent injuries and damage to the teeth and should be worn by anyone playing cricket, rugby, hockey and football.
Gum shields are not available on the NHS, but most dentists offer a mouth guard service and the cost of the gum shield will be significantly lower than the cost of treatment for broken teeth.
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