Mouthguards for Kalamazoo College

Dr. Allen is a proud alumnus of the K College football program, and each year our team looks forward to providing mouth guards to the Kalamazoo College football team.  Drs. Allen and Harris, assistants Sarah, Amy, and Karna, and Dr. Allen’s rugby players Manny and Ivan all helped take impressions and make custom mouth guards for Kalamazoo College players.

Mouthguards are important in reducing the risk of sports-related dental injuries.  Studies show that athletes of all ages, genders, and skills are at risk of dental injuries, whether participating at a recreational or competitive level. While certain sports such as boxing and rugby have more obvious injury risks, dental injuries are also prevalent in non-contact and limited-contact sports.

There are different types of mouth guards that vary in cost, comfort, efficacy, and adaptability.  Stock mouth guards are typically the cheapest and most readily available.  Because they are available in limited sizes and are not adaptable to the athlete’s mouth, they are considered the least effective type of mouthguard. Boil-and-bite mouthguards are readily available at most sporting goods stores and are designed to soften when placed in boiling water, then adapted to the athlete’s mouth with bite pressure and manual manipulation.  Custom mouthguards are fabricated in a dental office using impressions taken of the athlete’s mouth.  They are the most effective due to the custom fit.  They are generally thought to be the most expensive, but our office is happy to make mouth guards that often beat the cost of a generic guard bought in the store.  Regardless of the type of mouthguard, the most important feature is that it is worn!

We wish the players of the K College Hornets a successful season!  Their schedule can be found here.

Contact us for more information on mouth guards in Kalamazoo