Custom Mouthguards in Canning Vale
Game-day protection, made to fit your child's mouth and nobody else's.
More Canning Vale kids than ever are playing organised sport: footy, cricket, rugby, kickboxing, basketball and netball. Great for fitness and friendships, but contact sports come with real risk to the face and mouth. A blow to the head, an elbow to the chin, a knee to the cheek — it happens fast, and teeth are rarely the first thing anyone's protecting.
A custom mouthguard from our Canning Vale, Thornlie and Southern River practice is inexpensive insurance against injuries that are otherwise very preventable — and can mean months of restorative dental work if they happen.
Why a custom mouthguard matters?
Without a properly fitted mouthguard, we regularly see:
- Cut lips
- Chipped or cracked teeth
- Tongue damage
- Jaw injury
- Knocked-out teeth
- Concussion
- TMJ issues
The Australian Dental Association recommends anyone playing a sport with facial contact risk should wear one. Off-the-shelf and boil-and-bite guards from the pharmacy offer some protection, but they're not built for your child's actual bite. A custom guard, made from an impression of their teeth, sits snugly with no room to shift on impact.
Check your private health insurance policy too - most funds have a provision for a mouthguard that's gap-free, so it may cost you nothing out of pocket.
Why do we use mouthguards?
Custom mouthguards from our Canning Vale practice are made for sport to help protect your child's teeth, mouth and jaw during contact sport.
If you're looking for something to manage teeth grinding at night or help with snoring, that's a different type of appliance (an occlusal night guard) - it's worth asking your dentist for a referral, as it's not something we make in-house.
How does a dental mouthguard work?
You might be required to wear a custom mouthguard to play your chosen sport, or your dentist might recommend one to help protect your teeth during sleep if you have bruxism.
During your mouthguard appointment, your dentist will take impressions of your teeth. To do this, you will bite down into a soft clay-like material, and hold this pose for a minute or two. The dentist will remove the new impression and send it away to a lab.
It will usually take a week or two for the lab to create a custom-made mouthguard for your teeth. They will work with instructions from your dentist, which could mean adding a hard insert for very high-impact sports.
Once the mouthguard is ready, you will return to your dentist to pick it up and ensure it fits well. If you wear it often for regular sports, you may be advised to replace it once per year, but it’s important to bring your mouthguard to future dental check-ups so your dentist can check and ensure its strength and integrity.
What to expect from your custom mouthguard appointment
- Book an impression appointment — takes about 20 minutes
- Your dentist takes an impression of your child's upper jaw using a soft clay-like material
- The impression is sent to our local dental laboratory
- Technicians craft the guard from ethylene vinyl acetate — a strong, durable plastic
- Pick a colour to match your child's sports team
- Typical turnaround is around two weeks
- Come back to collect it and confirm the fit
As kids grow, the shape of their mouth changes, so guards do need replacing over time. We recommend bi-yearly check-ups with one of our Ranford Road dentists to make sure the fit and function are still spot on.
Frequently asked questions
Many private health funds cover a sports mouthguard gap-free — it's worth checking your policy. We'll confirm any out-of-pocket cost before you book.
For kids, expect to replace it as their mouth grows and changes shape — we'll check the fit at each bi-yearly visit. For adults using one for grinding, yearly replacement is common.
A mouthguard in sports is designed to minimise and potentially completely avoid any damage to your teeth and gums. Many sports with high levels of physical contact, such as rugby and hockey, require players to wear mouthguards in order to protect teeth.
A good mouthguard will do this by adding a thick layer of protective plastic around your teeth, so even if you have a collision with another player, get tackled, or have some other physical clash, your teeth have a layer of plastic around them to absorb some of the shock, much like a helmet does for your head.
This minimises the risk of chipped and cracked teeth as well as broken and knocked out teeth.
Technically speaking, a mouthguard will not stop you from clenching your teeth. However, it will protect your teeth from wearing down due to clenching or teeth grinding.
Your dentist will work with you to find solutions to help you keep from clenching, such as finding ways to reduce your stress, so that you no longer need a mouthguard to protect your teeth.
Get Your Child Protected Before Their Next Game
Book an impression appointment with our Canning Vale team.
Choose a colour to match their team, and have a custom mouthguard ready within a couple of weeks.