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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

gum shields

16 replies

discoball · 20/09/2009 19:42

Hi, please could I have your views re. gumshields? My DS (year 8) has been asked to wear one for rugby a) can you recommend any good ones? b) do they really protect you/what's your experience? c) are they compulsory? Many thanks. Just in case anyone wondered, have no problem with DS wearing one (he has great teeth!), but just have no experience with them!! Thanks.

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lemonadesparkle · 20/09/2009 20:50

My older children's school insists that ALL the children wear gumshields for sporting activity.

DS1 initially used a shop bought shield which you soften in hot water and then bite into to get the right shape - he never found it comfortable. We have now invested in dental shields made by their dentist specifically for them and both DS and DD say they are really comfortable. I think we paid IRO £30 for each of them. I certainly wouldn't want ds playing rugby or cricket and dd playing hockey without them - have spent far too many years ensuring that they take good care of their teeth.

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DillyTantay · 20/09/2009 20:50

get a shock doctor one

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ruggermum · 20/09/2009 22:40

I doubt very much that your DS has been asked to wear a mouthguard. He will have been told. You should be worried if the teacher is not insisting on it.
Any mouthguard is better than nothing. Boil-in-the-bag guards are cheap but tailor-made are better. The school may have a visit by a guard manufacturer organised - ask them.
If you have a tailor-made, make sure that it has his name marked in for if when he loses it.

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discoball · 20/09/2009 23:03

Thanks, Ruggermum - have bought a boil-in-the-bag one but have also sent an e-mail to my DS's dentist to get a quote for a tailormade one. Yes, sorry, they have been told to get gumshields, typing very quickly without really thinking about the finer details!! Thanks again.

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DillyTantay · 21/09/2009 08:49

bloody hell what is she ? the nouthguard police?

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discoball · 21/09/2009 12:33

Thanks, Dilly - will certainly look at a shock doctor one - Thanks again.

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DillyTantay · 21/09/2009 12:34

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JeffVadar · 21/09/2009 16:50

We have used a couple of boil in the bag ones, but Shock Doctor are definitely the best, Ds found them the most comfortable by far to wear.

It is very important to wear them; DCs can get bashed on the chin or in the face which makes the top and bottom teeth clash together, and you can end up with broken teeth.

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LIZS · 21/09/2009 17:03

dc school have Opro come in and take moulds -costs about £35 - they do Rugby clubs etc too. afaik they are compulsory for contact rugby ie Year 3 up. dd also has to have one for hockey and a dentist/orthodontist made one was £70 last year but as her baby teeth were just coming out we could have it built up to allow room for new ones -needless to say it is going to do 2 seasons (at least) and we probably won't repeat . Apparently they can protect against head injuries as well as the teeth as they spread the force of a knock.

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vinblanc · 21/09/2009 21:01

We go with the Opro ones they get through school. In the year that I forgot the form, we got the gumshields at the dentist, but that was a bit more expensive.

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SueW · 21/09/2009 21:17

We paid for the Opro ones for a few years, until it became obvious that DD wasn't going to be chosen for fixtures, and didn't play club hockey. So we paid £40 for her to use it for a term each year to dribble a hockey ball up and down and in between posts in practice sessions. And of course each year we had to have a new one.

This year she has had braces so everything changes. She has the option of lip protectors or an upper and lower teeth protector, the cost of which has all been included in the cost of the braces.

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Milliways · 22/09/2009 18:12

We got one through school in Yr7, and found that as he grew we could boil & bite it to a MUCH better fit than a boil n bite from local sports shop!

However, DS is banned from rough sports for a while due to 2 fractures in 2 months!

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neversaydie · 22/09/2009 19:17

We got ds's through the dentist. £100. And what was the first item of sports kit he lost? (We are averaging an item per week at present.)

It has turned up again though, unlike the shorts and track suit bottoms!

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weblette · 22/09/2009 19:26

At ds1's school they cannot play rugby - the main winter term sport - without one. The school organises Opro to do fittings. Cost about £40.

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Pimmpom · 23/09/2009 10:52

DS has just had fixed braces fitted. Phoned up dentist and they said they recommend Shock Doctor Braces mouthguard. Ordered one for £13.00. Thought it was going to be a very expensive phone call!