The Trouble with Braces

When you wear braces, you have a decent amount of wire and metal dwelling in your mouth. That poses a problem for any type of contact sport. Get a decent shot to the jaw and your braces are likely to be seriously misaligned. In fact, almost any sport (apart possibly from tiddlywinks), carries a risk of injury.

Because you are dealing with metal and wire in your mouth, the impact to this part of your face carries with it the likelihood of cutting your gums and lips.

Regular mouthguards will not work long term. Braces wearers need to heat up a regular mouthguard and then bite into it to make teeth imprints. But as your teeth are realigned, the mouthguard will try to force them back into their old position. Besides, if a person wearing a regular mouthguard is hit hard enough, the force will shatter the wire brackets anyway.

In order to protect the mouth, it is possible for braces wearers to have a special orthodontic mouthguard made. But these are expensive and uncomfortable. Most braces wearers simply end up sitting on the sidelines!

The Invisalign Solution

Invisaligners are clear, thin plastic alignment trays that are customized to fit perfectly over your teeth. Unlike braces, which features numerous bumps and corners, they are completely smooth. As a result, they do not carry the risks of cutting the mouth that comes with facial impact to a wearer of braces.

The great advantage that Invisaligners have over braces, apart from being invisible, is that they are removable. That means that, when, you’re playing a contact sport such as football you can simply remove your Invisaligners and pop in a regular mouthguard. Some people even wear a mouthguard right over their Invisaligners. However, this is not advised, as it may detract from the protection afforded by the actual mouthguard.

For sports where you wouldn’t normally wear a mouthguard, you can safely play while wearing your Invisaligners. These sports, though they may involve limited bodily contact, generally don’t end up in whacks to the face. These may include such activities as soccer, basketball, and tennis. Activities such as athletic events, cycling and gymnastics may impose a degree of jarring on the body, but they, too, will not overly stress your moth area and so can be enjoyed while wearing your Invisaligners.

If you play such high impact sports as football, wrestling, hockey, rugby or polo, simply take your Invisaligners out and pop in a regular mouthguard. Just remember to store your Invisaligners in their carry case – and don’t forget to floss and brush your teeth thoroughly before putting your Invisaligners back in your mouth.