What Summer Sports are Worst for Teeth and Jaws?

Finally, the warm weather is here! After a long winter stuck indoors, you can get out of the house and go play your favorite summer sport, whether it’s baseball, swimming, or soccer. But beware — as Dr. Patrick Morrissey and the staff at Boones Ferry Dental could tell you, some summer sports are worse for teeth and jaws than others!

(Unintentional) Contact Sports

Of course, the worst kind of sport for teeth and jaws is any kind of contact sport, such as boxing or mixed martial arts.

The good news, as far as oral health is concerned, is that summer has very few contact sports — or at least they aren’t supposed to be contact sports!

When you are playing baseball, softball, or soccer, for instance, things can move very fast. Teammates on a soccer team may be going for the ball at the same time and accidentally collide. The same can happen in baseball as players are looking at that sky-high pop fly and getting ready to catch it and don’t notice that they are about to run right into each other. Full-on collisions with a teammate can definitely be bad for the head, teeth, and jaw.

And, in any of these sports, the ball can travel at amazing speeds sometimes right at a player’s face!

The Safest Sports

If you are cringing at the thought of how much it would hurt to catch a fastball with your mouth, you’ll be happy to know that there are many summer sports that are much safer than baseball, softball, and soccer.

There’s track and field, where the odds are very low that players will come into contact with each other. There is competitive swimming, where you are always inches away from your nearest rival. However, when it comes to summer sports that are safe for teeth and jaws, fishing just may be the safest!

Protecting Your Teeth and Jaws

If you are excited that you finally have the chance to play your favorite sport, but concerned that it could accidentally turn into a contact sport, a mouthguard can help.

Mouthguards used to be just for boxers, but now they are often worn by athletes in all kinds of sports. Mouthguards are made out of hard plastic and they cover the teeth and the gums to protect them. It is even thought that mouthguards can help to reduce the harm levels of a concussion, if the player gets a concussion after he has taken a hard hit to the jaw.

Many players of summer sports, such as soccer and water polo, wear mouthguards. Some leagues, especially if they are youth leagues, require them.

Do you have to wear a mouthguard while fishing? Probably not! But the bottom line is that your teeth and jaw can be easily injured when you are playing certain kinds of summer sports, and you should take precautions to protect them when you can.

Dr. Morrissey and the staff at Boones Ferry Dental care about your teeth and jaw, and they want to help you to keep them healthy! Call Boones Ferry Dental for an appointment today, at (503) 713-6877.

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