Mouthguard For Lacrosse? « (4 Reasons Why You Need Them!)
Lacrosse is a fast-paced sport with accelerating popularity. It also can be just as rough as football and requires some proper protections for the players. If you or your child are thinking of joining a lacrosse team, how will you protect your pearly whites?
Do you need a mouthguard for lacrosse? Yes, wearing mouthguards for lacrosse helps prevent injuries and trauma. The 4 reasons why you should wear a mouthguard when playing lacrosse include:
- Prevent injury to the mouth
- Protect your teeth
- Reduce injury to lips
- Protects your jaw
According to Irfamilydentalcare.com, a recent study found young athletes are 60 times more likely to suffer damage to their teeth when they aren’t wearing a mouthguard. That makes for a pretty strong argument already.
In addition, there have been many studies that show athletes of any age who don’t wear a mouthguard while participating in a contact sport are more likely to experience mouth injuries and trauma.
This means no matter how old you are; it is important to wear a mouthguard when playing lacrosse. Now, let’s take a closer look at how mouthguards work and the benefits of wearing them.
Recommended Lacrosse Mouthguard
Shock Doctor Mouthguard
How Mouthguards Work and Add Protection
Mouthguards protect the teeth, lips, gums, and mouth area of your body. According to kidshealth.org, “They’re required for all lacrosse players.” Mouthguards also help prevent injury to the cheeks and jaw. There are a lot of delicate bones in our face and neck area.
Protection sometimes comes before comfort. It is important to understand that the first time you wear a mouthguard, it might feel uncomfortable. However, the benefits of wearing one certainly outweigh any discomfort you might experience. The fact is most lacrosse players get used to wearing their mouthguards in no time at all. Surely, you will too.
Now, you know a little about wearing a mouthguard, let’s look a little closer at the reasons you should be consistently wearing one.
Reason # 1 – Mouthguards Prevent Injury to Mouth
A mouthguard is a protective device for the mouth. It covers a person’s gums and teeth, decreasing the risk of injury to the mouth, teeth, lips, and the jaw.
Mouthguards are often worn in major contact sports. Lacrosse players aren’t alone! Other sports that people wear mouthguards include the following:
- Football
- Hockey
- Rollerblading
- Mountain Biking
- Skateboarding
To avoid injury, it is important to wear a mouthguard when playing any type of contact sport.
So, it’s not unusual at all for a sport to require players wear mouthguards. It just makes good sense. Let’s take a look at all the ways mouthguards offer the necessary protection.
Reason #2 – Mouthguards Protect Your Teeth
Mouthguards, also known as mouth protectors, help minimize the blow to a person’s face. They reduce the risk of you getting a broken or chipped tooth during a game of lacrosse. They also help you from getting a tooth knocked out.
A mouthguard generally covers your upper teeth. Generally, a person’s top teeth are most likely to be impacted when a player gets hit in lacrosse. Therefore, many lacrosse players use mouthguards during practice and games to protect their teeth.
According to mouthhealthy.org, “The best mouthguard is one that has been custom made for your mouth by your dentist.” That’s the priciest of the available options. Here are the three main options when purchasing protective mouth gear:
- Boil and bite – These mouthguards are put in water, boiled and softened in water, then inserted in the mouth. This lets them take the shape of a person’s mouth.
- Stock – These mouthguards come pre-formed. You just take them out of their package and wear them. However, they are generally less expensive than other types of mouthguards.
- Custom made – These mouthguards are made by a dentist. They are designed to fit your mouth. However, they can be somewhat expensive.
If you want to protect your teeth when playing lacrosse, a mouthguard is the best answer. Some people have problems wearing a mouthguard. However, if you find one that fits right in your mouth, then you should be just fine.
We’ve covered your teeth – literally. Let’s take a look at how mouthguards can reduce to injury to your lips and cheeks.
Reason # 3 – Mouthguards Reduce Injury to Lips
In some contact sports, including lacrosse, people often get cuts on their lips. Mouthguards are the best protective gear a person can use to help them reduce the risk of injury to their lips.
Athletic mouthguards are thin. They are generally made from flexible plastic. Many studies show that the risk of injury around the mouth area while playing any contact sport can be drastically reduced if you wear a mouthguard. As you can see, it is important to wear your mouthguard when playing lacrosse.
Moving on, let’s look at how mouthguards can protect your jaw.
Reason # 4 – Protects Your Jaw
Typically, when a person has an impact to the mouth, jaw, or chin the results can lead to injury. Sometimes, this is minor. However, sometimes it can be bloody, painful, and damaging to all the areas surrounding your mouth.
There are three common types of impacts that cause facial injury. These include the following:
- Direct impact to the jaw – This type of impact comes from the side. It directly impacts the jaw. This type of blow to the jaw as the ability to cause damage to the jawbone, teeth, and jaw joints.
- Direct impact to the mouth – This impact happens when a person gets hit in the mouth. It is the first kind of impact most people think of when talking about a facial injury impact. When the mouth gets hit, it can cause damage to the lips, teeth, and gums.
- Under the chin impact – This kind of impact is often referred to as “being hit on the button.” When a person gets hit under the chin, it can cause damage to the jawbones, jaw joint, and teeth.
Thankfully, mouthguards are like shock absorbers. They reduce the shock of an impact. So, if you’re looking to protect your mouth, teeth, lips, and jaw, it is important to always wear your mouthguard.
Conclusion
There are many great reasons why you should wear a mouthguard when playing lacrosse.
- First, a mouthguard will help you from injuring your mouth.
- Second, a mouthguard will help you protect your teeth.
- Third, a mouthguard will reduce the risk of you injuring your lips.
- Finally, a mouthguard will help you protect your jaw from being injured while you are playing lacrosse.
If you have tried wearing a mouthguard in the past but found it uncomfortable. Remember, there are many types of mouthguards available for you on the market.
However, if you have trouble finding one that fits you correctly, it would be a good idea to get one custom made. You can do this by speaking with your dentist.
Your coach might also be able to recommend a mouthguard that can help protect you from an injury. Plus, other players on your team might be able to help you find one that correctly fits your mouth.
The important thing is to get one, wear it, and enjoy your game.
Sometimes we dismiss the importance of minor details, like wearing a mouthguard, but they can have a significant impact on the game.
Because of the raise of awareness on the impact of these minor details, more people are investing not only on safety equipment, but also on formation, as it is known one of the factors reducing the risk of getting injured is having a better understanding of the sport.
That’s why courses like the one by Rob Pannell, where he gives a complete vision of lacrosse as a sport from a professional’s perspective are becoming more and more popular nowadays.
You can check out the course here: Players Academy.
Our advice is to take safety seriously, so we can enjoy this wonderful sport to the fullest minimizing all risks possible.
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