Sports Mouthguards
By Dr. Linda Niessen
Monday, September 16, 2002
STORY: SPORTS MOUTHGUARDS
SCRIPT #478 SHOOT: 9/4/02
AIRDATE: Monday, Sept. 16, 2002
![[Image]](../Images/football.jpg)
Helmets and mouthguards prevent an estimated 200-thousand oral injuries every year on the football field.
"Football, obviously, has made better strides than other sports," says Dr. Gary Pointer, the sports team dentist for Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Over the years, he has seen some severe injuries. "Playing Texas A & M one evening, we had a player hit one of our receivers at TCU and broke his jaw right in the middle. We've also seen a quarterback from another school playing TCU got hit and broke his jaw in five places. Of course, those injuries are very serious and are treated typically by an oral surgeon. Our coach has a picture of a guy that lost his teeth and it was stuck in someone's head."
Corey Wilson is a goalie for the T-C-U soccer team. Corey wants to protect his teeth, so Dr. Pointer is making him a custom mouthguard.
"It should be mandatory for a soccer player," says Corey, "because it's a rough sport. And there's elbows flying. You go in for headers. You can come down on someone and lose a tooth."
Dr. Pointer indicates that custom mouthguards usually have a much better fit than … a boil and bite type. "There's just obviously a big difference. When you put it in, it fits you perfectly."
If you have a boy or girl who plays a sport, don't wait for a dental injury before getting fitting for a custom mouthguard. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A & M System, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen.
Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.
