Hi there! Alistair here from Central Coast Orthodontics. I was with our new patient Jacob and his mum from Erina yesterday. Jacob is a teenager, and he loves his rugby! During our consultation, he asked me… can I still play ruby during treatment? This is such a common question, so I thought I’ll make a quick video sharing with you what I shared with him, just in case your child is also thinking the same thing…

Many of our patients play lots of different sports and there is no reason this should stop, just because you are having your teeth straightened or your bite fixed. If you are playing a contact sport, it would be a good idea to consider wearing a mouth guard at the same time.

Now the most effective mouthguard is one that is custom made to fit your mouth usually by your dentist. However, if you have certain orthodontic appliances in your mouth or some major changes happening, a custom made mouthguard might not fit for very long. As a second option, you might consider visiting your chemist or a sports store where pre-formed semi-adjustable mouth guards can be found with space for braces. Another alternative is to use an off the shelf, one size fits all mouth guard which we have here in the clinic for you to try. They can be great as a temporary solution while you’re waiting to arrange something that will fit better.

Teeth are generally safer if you have an accident with braces on as they are all joined together, however it is important to be aware that a knock to the mouth while wearing braces might cause a cut to your lip or the inside of your cheek.

So, for some patients who play a lot of active sport, they might consider using clear aligners rather than braces to move their teeth. This will avoid the risk of braces cutting your lip if you get a knock to the mouth. Having aligners instead of braces can make it easier to wear custom made mouth guards during treatment.

If you do have a dental injury playing sport or even in your normal day to day life it is really important you seek attention as soon as possible. The longer the tooth is either out of the mouth or the longer a broken tooth is left unfixed, the greater the chances of complications in the future. There are some really useful dental injury guides and apps which you can get on your phone. And I think it’s a great thing for a coach or manager of a sports team or even a school teacher or a parent for that matter, to have handy in case an accident happens.

My favourite one is an app called Tooth SOS which has been developed by a group of researchers that study dental injuries and how best to manage them. It’s free and really is simple to use in an emergency.

Anyway, that’s all for now, if you have any questions about mouthguards and orthodontic treatment please feel free to get in touch or just send us a DM on social media. We would love to help. See you next time!

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