Dr. Cottingham wants to know: Are you wearing your mouth guard?

With fall sports under way for a lot of our patients, Dr. Cottingham thought today would be a good time to once again remind our young athletes in braces to take care of both their mouth and appliances while participating in sports this fall.

You should ALWAYS wear a mouth guard when playing sports, but especially this month. Why? September is National Childhood Injury Prevention Month. The month may almost be over, but it’s still important to bring that mouth guard whenever you’re headed to practice or to the big game this fall.

Here’s why:

More than half of the seven million sports and recreation-related injuries that occur each year are sustained by youth between ages 5 and 24. Sixty-seven percent of parents say their child does not wear a mouth guard, yet 70 percent say their biggest fear when their child plays is that they will get hurt. Despite the risks, many kids are still not wearing mouth guards and facial protection during games and practices.

Dr. Cottingham and our entire staff at Cottingham Orthodontics encourage you to head over to the American Association of Orthodontists' website for a quick primer on the importance of mouth guards and protecting your mouth.

We hope this helps you remember to always wear a mouth guard and other forms of protective gear when participating in fall sports! We encourage you to give us a call if you have any questions! Have a great rest of the week!