Custom Athletic Mouthguards

Athletic Mouthguards

What is an Athletic/Sport mouthguard?

A mouthguard is a flexible custom fitted device worn over teeth during athletic and recreational activities to protect them from damage. A good-fitting mouth guard may be especially important if you wear braces, have fixed anterior bridgework or just want to protect your teeth/smile from potential trauma.

Mouthguards can prevent damage to the teeth, the brackets and/or other fixed appliances from blows and physical contact. Mouthguards can also act as a barrier between teeth/braces and the cheeks, as well as between the lips and tongue. This barrier limits the risk of soft tissue damage.

What are the benefits?

  1. Prevents cuts and bruising during impact between the lips and teeth
  2. Protects against chipped or broken teeth, root and bone damage, movement of teeth, and tooth loss.
  3. Provides support that can prevent fracture or damage to the lower jaw.
  4. Mouth guards also absorb the shock during physical contact and can prevent serious injuries such as jaw fracture, brain trauma/hemorrhage, concussion and neck injuries by helping to avoid instances where the lower jaw jams into the upper jaw. 

Who should wear a mouth guard?

The American Dental Association recommends the use of a mouth guard for 29 sports/exercise activities. These include ice hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, football, acrobatics, basketball, boxing, disc golf, gymnastics, handball, martial arts, racquetball, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling. Essentially, whenever there’s a chance of contact with other players or hard surfaces, wearing a mouth guard makes sense.

How can I have a custom athletic guard made for myself or my children? For professional advice about how to protect your teeth during athletic activities, talk to your dentist about selecting a mouthguard that will provide the best protection for your particular needs. Please contact us at 920-233-6001 or email to [email protected] with any questions, or to schedule a consultation.

Oshkosh Smiles – Replacing Your Toothbrush

Frayed Toothbrush

It’s easy to know when to replace worn-out shoes or faded clothes, but how often should you change your toothbrush? Before you brush again, ask yourself whether it is time for a new toothbrush.

How often should you change your toothbrush?

The American Dental Association recommends that you replace your toothbrush approximately every three months, or sooner if the bristles are frayed. When in doubt, look at your toothbrush bristles. If they are frayed, they won’t clean your teeth as thoroughly.  Clinically research shows that a new toothbrush can remove more plaque than one that’s worn out.

Change your Toothbrush when you are feeling under the weather

You should also consider getting a new toothbrush if you have recently been sick. This is because germs can hide in the toothbrush bristles and lead to reinfection. Even if you haven’t been sick, fungus and bacteria can develop in the bristles of your toothbrush over time, which is why they need to be replaced frequently. 

Maintaining Your Toothbrush

Storing a toothbrush in a closed container can cause bacteria to build up, so it is best to let the bristles of the toothbrush fully dry between each usage. If you’re traveling, consider using disposable toothbrushes during the trip.

Get into the habit of buying new toothbrushes for everyone in the family several times per year. How often you change your toothbrush has several factors, but it’s always best to have a new, fresh toothbrush waiting in the bathroom cabinet for each family member.

Oshkosh Smiles – Dental Insurance Questions

Do you have questions about dental insurance? You are not alone.

Knowing the benefits of your dental insurance can save time and improve your overall health. By seeing your dentist regularly, you can catch dental problems before they get too serious and require more extensive and expensive procedures.

To help you on your journey toward a healthier smile, we have created a video of the most commonly asked dental insurance questions.

“My Dental Insurance is out of network. Can I still be seen at your office?”

YES! You will still have insurance coverage at our office.  Sometimes the coverage is exactly the same, or a service may be covered, but at a different percentage. For example, an in-network plan may have coverage for a service at 100%, whereas an out-of-network provider may have coverage at 80 or 90%.   A lot of our patients choose to stay with us, even though their plan is “Out-of-Network”, because they know the quality of care they are getting is worth the difference!

“What is the difference between Dental and Medical Insurance?”

The biggest difference between Dental and Medical insurance is your deductible. A dental insurance deductible is typically only a $50 or $100 fee that is charged once a benefit year for any services other than preventative. Another difference between dental insurance and medical insurance is the dental maximum. The dental maximum is an allowance that is given to you each benefit year to use towards your dental services and is a much smaller allowance than a medical maximum.  Although there are differences between dental and health insurance, sometimes we are able to utilize both plans by billing them together when certain services are performed. Some of the services that could be billed under both your medical and dental are biopsies, certain extractions, and TMJ splints. If x-rays and exams are needed due to a medical accident, we also may be able to utilize both your medical and dental benefits.

“Do I need to bring my insurance card with me to my appointments?”

It is very helpful for our office to have a copy of the patient’s insurance card. We are able to help patients best maximize and utilize their benefits each year. We are able to find out their detailed benefits faster, and also able to find out any special benefits the insured might not be aware of. For example, adults being able to have fluoride treatments covered two times per year, and more frequent cleaning appointments covered.

“How often should I come in for dental cleanings?”

A lot of patients don’t know how often to come in for their routine dental visits, most think it is only every six months. However, some plans have extra benefits that allow you to come in every 3 months! If a patient is pregnant, has diabetes, periodontal disease or, or has a suppressed immune system (which can be caused by medical conditions or medications you are taking) they could receive extra benefits that are “hidden” in their plan. If a patient’s plan has this benefit, we are able to enroll them to receive extra cleanings and sometimes fluoride treatments.

We encourage you to contact us with any dental insurance questions you may have.