With the winter sports season approaching, ADA NSW has been asking the public to visit their dentist for an appropriate, custom-fitted mouthguard to help prevent nasty dental injuries while playing sport. With only about a third of Australians wearing a mouthguard while playing contact sport, can you help us spread the word and increase awareness of mouthguards?

Key messages for patients:

• Sports-related injuries account for nearly 40% of dental injuries, yet only 36% of Australians wear a mouthguard when playing contact sport, and even fewer wear a mouthguard during training.
• A single case of dental trauma can lead to a lifetime of treatment.
• Dental trauma from sporting injury can result in damage to the tooth nerve, fractured, cracked or knocked-out teeth, a broken jaw, damage to the tongue and cut lips.

Benefits of a custom-fitted mouthguard:

• Minimises risk of injury to teeth, gums and jaw
• Makes breathing and speaking a lot easier
• A lot more comfortable than ‘boil and bite’ mouthguards
• Expert fitting from qualified professionals
• Long lasting, durable and available in a variety of designs

Download the ADA mouthguard awareness fact sheet here.

Learn more about ADA NSW’s advocacy efforts here.