Hockey Players: Good Luck to Your Teeth
Detroit Free Press Investigates Hockey Team’s Dental Realities
Though it’s well known that they face dental dangers at every turn, hockey players seem to be more reluctant than other athletes to wear mouthguards. The NHL doesn’t require players to wear mouthguards, so only about half of all professional players do, with the rest complaining that they are uncomfortable or impair their breathing.
Red Wings player Darren McCarty sports a gap-toothed smile, and has said that he won’t replace the missing tooth until he retires from hockey.
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June 4th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I understand the hockey player’s responses from their prospective. If they are wearing the ill fitting and bulky over the counter boil and bite mouthguards or if they are wearing custom made mouthguards which have not been trimmed properly on the lingual palatal area, they will feel their mouthguards are too thick and bulky. Mouthguards MUST fit properly. You cannot get a proper fit from an over the counter MG. Hockey players like thin mouthguards, however, the thinner, the less protective. The minimal thickness needed for protection published in the medical dental journals is between 3-4 mm. Anything less is not protective. I have been making mouthguards for all levels of athletes for over 20 years. I have made custom made pressure laminated mouthguards for basketball, rugby, water polo, hockey, boxing and other sports that do not require a facemask. If water polo players can wear them comfortably, hockey players can wear them. They just have to be made properly for each individual’s needs. Once they wear a properly finished and lingually thinned MG, they will see the difference. The protection and thickness can be maintained in front of the teeth and thinned behind the teeth. That makes them comfortable.
Ray Padilla, DDS
rpaddds@ucla.edu
Team dentist UCLA, LA Galaxy, LA Avengers, USA National Soccer Teams