Your little Johnny is an athlete. He stays hours after school practicing football plays, running basketball drills, learning new wrestling moves, or working on his fastball pitch. He loves team sports and basically spends the entire summer training and the whole school year playing in the games but, he also wants to get braces to straighten his smile. You may be wondering, “Can braces get in the way of team sports?” Seems like he’s in a pickle. Not so fast, Just For Grins Orthodontics offers Invisalign Teen! This nearly invisible orthodontic option is perfect for Johnny to straighten his smile and continue to play sports.
We know about the aesthetic benefits for opting for Invisalign treatment, but did you know that it is also recommended for student athletes because of the flexibility to remove the aligners for practice and games? With the school year in full swing, as well as the bats at baseball practice, you may want to consider Invisalign as the safer option to traditional braces. Every year teens and adolescents account for over 5 million dental injuries while playing sports. These dental injuries could be much worse if they occur while fitted with traditional braces. It is much easier to replace an Invisalign aligner than it is to reconstruct the damaged wire and metal brackets of traditional braces. Not to mention the oral damage that can occur from the broken wires and brackets!
Regardless of your child’s treatment choice, it is extremely important for your child to protect their smile while playing sports by wearing a proper mouthguard. Braces slowly (but surely) move the patient’s teeth which means the typical boil-and-bite mouthguard may need to be replaced every few weeks to accommodate your child’s new smile. Mouthguards may be required for officiated school sports, but let’s be realistic, you’re not always going to have the mouthguard ready for when that pickup game of basketball or volleyball breaks out. Kids are going to be kids, and whether or not they lead the county in kills on the volleyball court or all-purpose yards on the football field, injuries happen and statistically speaking, the damage and pain that goes along with dental injuries is increased by traditional braces.
The inherent danger that goes along with traditional braces and sports is that wires and brackets can break, causing damage to your child’s gums and or teeth. With the ability to remove the Invisalign aligner you can mitigate the damage caused by a dental injury.
At Just For Grins Orthodontics, we’re here for you and ready to answer any questions you may have about Invisalign. Give us a call today at 334-270-1044!
