Boxing?
Boxing is a hands-on athletic sport notorious for knocking out a tooth or two. Anyone who plans to participate in martial arts and other such activities, particularly Boxing, should be aware of how it might affect your dental health.
The team at Infinitude Fight highly recommends using a quality mouthguard as frequently in duals as a pair of boxing gloves. However, it is also essential to understand precisely how a mouthguard protects you from dental problems in Boxing.
How a MouthGuard Protect You?
So how do mouthguards work in Boxing? – Mainly, boxers, rugby players, lacrosse players, and hockey players use a mouth guard as a crash helmet for the teeth. Not using a mouth guard increases the chances for a dental injury by 60 percent, says the American Dental Association (ADA).
ADA further explains that a mouth guard barricades the impact of a blow that would otherwise be powerful enough to break the teeth and cause jaw fractures. ADA also points out the importance of using mouth guards by athletes, which are tear-resistant, fit properly, and do not restrict the airflow.
Mouthguards essentially let the boxers and athletes practice their craft in relative safety.
But why do boxers wear mouth guards? And what are common dental issues among boxers?
Dental Diseases
The most common type of dental disease among boxers is periodontal disease. Research on more than 300 athletes as subjects concluded that more than 76% of them developed gingivitis while not using a mouthguard.
The research further states that when athletes suffer from gum diseases, their performance is almost always negatively impacted.
It is imperative to take note that gingivitis opens up a plethora of other severe oral conditions such as infections and inflammations. However, Boxing alone is not the leading cause for gingivitis as it is caused primarily by dirty mouth guards.
At Infinitude Fight, we recommend taking care of your mouth guards and sanitizing them between sessions as often as you do with your boxing gloves.
Tooth Fractures
Tooth fractures are the most common dental injury among boxers. The athletes who take part in MMA or Boxing are more likely to have dental fractures – the conservative number by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery states that more than 60% of the athletes suffer from tooth fractures.
However, the possibility of a tooth fracture can be drastically reduced by using mouth guards – as the design of the mouth guards redistributes the shock of an impact and stabilizes the jaw in a jaw-breaking incident (pun intended).
Without the mouth guards, the shock and trauma received by the teeth will require endodontics and the following pain management. Tooth fractures are quite painful when you bite down or when you expose a fractured tooth to hot or cold.
The Remedy
A fractured tooth does not recover, but the dentists can seal the tooth and prevent further damage to the roots. Therefore, seeking timely and appropriate dental care is essential and time-sensitive as untreated fractures lead to further infections.
As a combat fighter or a boxer, you need to make sure to perform your best and bring out the peak in your every performance.
Getting plenty of knowledge on and about mouth guards, boxing gloves, and other boxing equipment, along with possible dental issues caused by Boxing, is critical for a fighter and their performance.
Getting to know the risks of Boxing and applying methods to avoid them, you can make sure that your dental health is well taken care of, and you can focus on your sport easily.