Sports Dentistry · Crown Point, IN
Crown Point Athletes: Why Mouthguard Fittings Matter More Than You Think
Practice starts in August at Crown Point, Lake Central, Lowell and Merrillville. Cleats get bought, helmets get fitted, and the mouth is usually the last thing anyone thinks about. Here is what a fitted guard actually protects.
Top Teeth Take the Hit
They sit farther forward, so they absorb most of the impact
Custom Beats Drugstore
The ADA says the best guard is the one your dentist makes
One Visit to Get Fitted
A quick scan or impression is all the lab needs
August in Crown Point
Practice Starts Before the School Year Does
The sports calendar around Lake County turns fast. Football pads come out in early August, soccer and volleyball are close behind, and by the end of the month there are real games on the schedule.
Families buy cleats, shin guards, a new water bottle, and a helmet that fits this year instead of last year. The mouth is the piece that usually gets a drugstore guard dropped in the bag the night before, or nothing at all.
That is an easy thing to skip, because nothing about it feels urgent in August. It stops feeling optional the first time a knee catches someone’s jaw. A mouthguard is the only piece of gear protecting teeth that do not grow back.
Where the Risk Actually Is
The Sports That Require a Guard Are Not the Ones That Worry Us
A mouthguard cushions a blow to the face and lowers the risk of broken teeth and injuries to the lips, tongue and jaw, according to the American Dental Association. Most guards cover the upper teeth, because those stick out farther and take the brunt of any impact.
Required Equipment
Football, ice hockey, lacrosse and field hockey list a mouth protector as required gear under national high school rules. Wrestlers with braces are covered too.
Contact, but Rarely Required
Basketball, soccer, volleyball and baseball usually have no rule about it. Elbows and stray balls do not check the rulebook first.
Not Contact, Still Risky
The ADA names gymnastics and skating specifically. A fall does not need an opponent to break a tooth.
Braces Change the Math
An impact can damage brackets, and brackets can cut the inside of the lip. A fitted guard sits between the two.
What You Are Choosing Between
Three Kinds of Mouthguard, and What Each One Really Gives You
All three protect better than nothing. They differ in how well they fit, and fit is what decides whether your athlete actually keeps it in.
Stock
Pre-formed and ready to wear off the shelf. The ADA notes they often fit poorly, and that they can be bulky enough to make breathing and talking harder.
Better than nothing, worst of the three
Boil and Bite
Softened in hot water, then bitten into shape at home. A real step up from stock if you follow the instructions on the package closely.
A solid backup, and a fine starting point
Custom Fitted
Built by a lab from a scan or impression of your athlete’s own teeth. It holds its position, and it is thin enough in the right places that talking stays normal.
What the ADA calls the best option
The Guard That Works Is the One Getting Worn
A store-bought guard worn at every practice protects more teeth than a custom guard living at the bottom of a gym bag. That is the honest argument for a fitted one. It is comfortable enough that nobody has to be nagged about it in the third quarter.
What Actually Happens
A Fitting Takes One Short Appointment
We take a scan or an impression of the upper teeth, and of the lower teeth as well if your child has brackets down there. The lab builds the guard to that model, we check the bite when it comes back, and we adjust anything that rubs.
Our office uses digital scanning for this, so most kids never meet a tray of impression material. You can read more about that on our advanced technology page, or see the rest of what we handle under general dentistry.
- Rinse it before and after every practice, and let it dry in a vented case.
- Keep it out of a hot car. Heat warps the fit permanently.
- Replace it the moment it tears, thins, or stops gripping the teeth.
- A retainer should never be worn during contact sports. Bring it home instead.
Book a Fitting
If Something Does Get Chipped
Accidents still happen, guard or no guard. Here is what to do in the first few minutes after a chipped tooth, and when it is worth calling us the same day.
Getting Here
Randolph Street, Crown Point
10705 Randolph St, Crown Point, IN 46307 · (219) 401-4180 · Mon 9am to 7pm · Tue 8am to 2pm · Wed and Thu 8am to 5pm · Fri closed
Monday evening hours run until 7pm, which is the slot most families use when practice ends at five and nobody wants to miss a school day for a fitting.
What Crown Point Patients Say
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See what families across Crown Point and Northwest Indiana say about care at Dental Image.
Common Questions
Mouthguards for Young Athletes: FAQ
Straight answers for Crown Point, Lake Central, Lowell and Merrillville families heading into the season.
The American Dental Association is direct about it: the best mouthguard is the one your dentist makes for your mouth. A custom guard is fitted to your child’s teeth, so it stays put, and it is comfortable enough that they keep it in instead of pushing it out with their tongue between plays. If a custom guard is not an option right now, a boil and bite guard from the store is far better than going without.
Football, ice hockey, lacrosse and field hockey list a mouth protector as required equipment under national high school rules, and wrestlers with braces are required to wear one as well. Basketball, soccer, volleyball and baseball usually do not require one, which is where most of the injuries we see come from. Check with the coach before the first practice, because leagues set their own rules on top of the state ones.
Yes, and it makes one more important. A blow to the face can damage brackets, and the brackets themselves can cut the inside of the lip. A properly fitted guard puts a barrier between the two. If your child has brackets on the lower teeth, we may fit a guard for those as well. One more thing worth repeating: a retainer should never be worn during contact sports.
Replace it as soon as it tears, thins out, or stops sitting tightly against the teeth. Kids and teens usually need a new one sooner than adults because their mouths are still growing and their bite keeps changing. For a lot of families that works out to one guard per season, which is worth planning for rather than discovering the week of the first game.
Not at all. A boil and bite guard that gets worn every practice is doing real work, and it beats a custom guard sitting in a gym bag. Follow the package instructions closely when you form it, check the fit again after a few weeks, and bring it to your next visit if you want us to look at how it is sitting.
Call our Crown Point office at (219) 401-4180 or book online. We take a scan or impression at the first visit, the lab builds the guard to that model, and your athlete comes back to pick it up and have the fit checked. Booking a few weeks ahead of the first game gives the lab room to work and leaves time to adjust anything that does not feel right.
Get Fitted Before the First Game
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219-401-4180
10705 Randolph St, Crown Point, IN 46307
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