Protecting Your Mouth When Wearing Braces

Although mouth protection is important at all times and even more so when involved in athletic competition, care should always be taken when wearing braces.

Mouth guards provide very important protection to the mouth when engaged in athletic competitions. Research has shown that even basketball and soccer, which are considered non-contact sports, produce a large number of facial traumas due to blunt force contact. The mouth guard provides protection against mouth trauma from blunt force contact by enclosing the teeth with a protective barrier that adsorbs and redirects the force. When a person is wearing braces or has had recent dental work, the risk of injury is even greater. The mouth guard offers protection not only from damage to the appliances, but also shields the soft tissue of the lips and inner mouth from contact with the braces themselves.

There are three major types of mouth guards available. The stock mouth guards are preformed and factory made. They are simply removed from the containers and placed in the mouth. Although they are by far the cheapest of all mouth guards, you do not always receive a good fit which limits their ability to provide protection. The second type is called the boil and bit. This mouth guard is warmed first and then it is fitted to your mouth. The warming makes the guard malleable and it usually conforms to the shape of your mouth to provide much a much better fit and consequently more protection, than the stock variety. Despite the name, actually boiling the mouth guard is not necessary; it simply needs to be warmed to a flexible state.

The third type of mouth guard is called the custom guard. These are made by the orthodontist or a dentist specifically for an individual patient. Of course, they are much more expensive than the other types, but they do provide the maximum amount of protection. Custom mouth guards are recommended for athletes engaged in any type of sport that could produce mouth trauma while wearing braces. In most cases, full participation in sports is allowable when wearing braces or retainers as long as mouth guards are always used. Remember, this would include participation in sports such as basketball, soccer, or even baseball and softball, that are not generally considered contact sports. In a contact sport like football, nothing less than a custom mouth guard should be used for maximum safety.

There are other products designed to protect the mouth while wearing braces or other orthodontic appliances. These are designed more for the prevention of sores and infections and not for protection from trauma. These include such things as dental wax and oral antiseptic rinses. In the United States, silicone has largely replaced common dental wax as a protective substance. It provides a barrier between the edges of the metal braces and the soft tissue of the mouth and gums. Other types of gels are used to provide further protection and to help keep the mouth clean and free from infections.

The most serious risk to your mouth comes from blunt force trauma that can be the unexpected side effect of engaging in sports. This is why mouth guards are recommended when playing any sport where the possibility of contact exists. When you are undergoing orthodontic treatment and wearing braces or retainers, this becomes more than a recommendation and more of a necessity. The possibility of damage to the appliances themselves is bad enough, but the damage that broken or smashed metal or ceramic braces can do to the soft tissue of the mouth is even worse. Although stock mouth guards do provide protection and boil and bite guards offer even more, custom mouth guards made by your dentist are the best when wearing braces.

Aazdak Alisimo writes for the orthodontist directory at OrthodontistWeb.com.

basketball
basketball

Quick Tips on Getting the Best Roster For NCAA Basketball 2009

Many of the anticipated changes, improvements, and additions made for NCAA Basketball 09 can be experienced in its Dynasty Mode, a favorite method of playing for most, if not all, players. One such feature is the open roster sharing option.

Free Public File Sharing

In NCAA Basketball 09, players are not only entitled basketball create their own teams in dynasty mode, but they can also make legitimate use of named rosters. You have the choice of making your team entirely realistic...or fantastic. After that, let the games begin!

How to Download Rosters for NCAA Basketball 09

There are two ways to download rosters for your game. You can do it the hard but cost-free way by manually downloading them to your console. If, however, the process gets too technical then you could always order a pre-loaded roster online.

Many websites offer such services and when you've chosen basketball website to offer from, you can either mail them your memory card or USB flash drive. Afterwards, they'll load your preferred roster into the device and ship it back to you.

How to Choose the Right NCAA Basketball 09 Roster Service Provider

Consider the factors below when searching for the ideal website to order your NCAA Basketball 09 roster from.

Resources

It's important to know the source of the information their roster choices are based on. You need to verify these sources to ensure that you get your money's worth. If they're unwilling to let you know about their resources, there's a good chance you're about to be a victim of a scam.

Clearly Stated Conditions

A legitimate roster service website isn't afraid of providing information of how their services work. They'll let you up front how much you'll be charged with for the kind of services you're after. They have contingency plans to offer in the event that a glitch comes up in your transaction. Certainly, they show proof that they're a licensed business and with valid contact details.

Terms of Payment

When will you be required to make a payment? What are the payment options available? What kind of security do they offer to ensure that you'll procure the merchandise or services you've availed of?

Customer Service

Is there a FAQ page available? How do you contact them for inquiries and concerns? Do they offer round the clock customer and technical support?

Reputation

Lastly, it's best to search for a well-established company. Read testimonials and reviews to determine the ideal NCAA Basketball 09 roster service provider for you.

Playing NCAA Basketball 09 will be more fun if you have downloaded the most accurate NCAA Basketball 09 rosters. Learn what your options are.

Basketball Strategies Zone Defense

When studying the basketball strategies of one of the fastest paced sports we see how humans put basketball use zone defense strategies. But before we start our discussion on the game of basketball with the most agile of the species, let us take a look at how zone defense works in other arenas not necessarily similar to sports.

In Iraq the US and Coalition forces have broken up the area into regions to hunt down the Insurgency and International Terrorist Groups. In business zone defense is used to market a product or service to target markets with in zones as well. In fact most distribution works in commercial enterprises works in this same fashion also. You must cover the territories better than the competition.

Perhaps you have been involved in politics as a volunteer or you have wondered how people get elected? Sure they run lots of ads on the TV and radio in specific markets, but they also get out the vote by walking precincts to peoples homes. All this is zone defense or zone offense depending on if your opponent is doing the same thing. Even the US Post Office or FEMA uses zone strategies to accomplish their tasks and missions.

Now then back to basketball; if you really want to understand the game, you need to be thinking on exactly what zone defense is all about and then watch it unfold at 5-times the speed as any of these others types of zone strategies and then you will have a better understanding and appreciation of the sport. Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.