A mouth guard is a soft plastic or laminate device used in sports to prevent oral injuries to the teeth, mouth, cheeks, tongue and jaw. When it comes to protecting your mouth, a mouthguard is an essential piece of athletic gear that should be part of your standard equipment from an early age. Occlusal splints (also called bite splints, bite planes, or night guards) are removable dental appliances carefully molded to fit the upper or lower arches of teeth.
Dental sealants are a dental treatment intended to prevent tooth decay. Teeth have recesses on their biting surfaces; the back teeth have fissures (grooves) and some front teeth have cingulum pits. It is these pits and fissures which are most vulnerable to tooth decay, partly because food sticks in them and they are hard-to-clean areas. Dental sealants are materials placed in these pits and fissures to fill them in, creating a smooth surface that is easy to clean. Dental sealants are mainly used in children who are at higher risk of tooth decay, and typically they are placed as soon as the adult molar teeth come through.
A topical fluoride treatment is applied at the dentist office after you have received a professional cleaning. Usually, a fluoride gel or foam is placed in mouth shaped trays (affectionately known as duck trays) and inserted into patient’s mouth for their teeth to “soak” in for a few minutes. After fluoride application, we will you not to eat or drink for at least 30 minutes to allow for optimum absorption. Fluoride can re-mineralize small imperfections in the tooth enamel by attracting calcium to the teeth. Fluoride can actually make teeth stronger! Years of research and use have proven fluoride to be a safe and effective means of fighting and preventing tooth decay.
