Mouth guards are comfortable, resistant, and removable oral appliances that cover your upper teeth and help protect your teeth and gums from sports injuries. Mouth guards also protect against impacts to the mouth or against the clenching of teeth during sports.

Almost any high-intensity physical activity can lead to accidents that may damage teeth, jaws, or lips. However, some sports such as hockey, football, boxing, and basketball present greater risks than others. While mouth guards do not guarantee risk-free protection, they can help reduce the risk of concussions.

A concussion is a change in brain function following a blow or impact to the head or jaw, which jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. This movement causes a biochemical imbalance in the brain cells. Concussions do not always involve the loss of consciousness, but can include symptoms like disorientation, lack of coordination, and even vision problems. Concussions in sports are a very serious problem. Wearing a mouth guard is therefore highly recommended when practising certain sports.

At the Clinique dentaire Fortin Poirier, we recommend a custom-made mouth guard. Made from an exact model of your teeth using a multi-layer laminating system, the MaxxgardTM has many advantages: high level of protection, remarkable comfort, easy breathing, and clear elocution. Using ethylene vinyl acetate, a material with special properties, the MaxxgardTM mouth guard offers both better protection and a higher degree of adaptability. This unique material provides:

• Precise thickness control at critical points
• Perfect adjustment
• A high shock absorption ratio
• Maximum comfort
• A bite registration that allows optimal jaw positioning
• A range of colours

It is important to note that a custom-made mouth guard does not last forever and should be replaced after two to three years or if it is torn, prematurely worn out or thinned. Caring for your mouth guard can be done with traditional dental hygiene products. Simply rinse it in cold water after every use, and clean it with toothpaste and cold water every so often.