Ask any dentist, and they’ll say mouth guards are essential when playing sports. Why? Of all the oral injuries they see every year, 13 to 39% are sports-related. Furthermore, the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety finds that athletes who fail to wear mouth guards are 60 times more likely to experience a dental injury.

Sports can lead to collisions with other players, the ground, and flying objects like balls and bats. Wearing a mouth guard prevents many possible injuries to the face and mouth – chipped or broken teeth and jaw bones, root damage, and cuts to soft tissues. They’re especially designed to cover and absorb impact to the upper teeth, where 80% of all dental injuries occur.