If you are new to the game of football you may be wondering if you are able to play this game with braces. The answer to this question is yes, you may have to take a few small precautions but playing football with braces is totally safe.
The main reason that players worry about wearing braces while they play football is the potential damage to the teeth and to the braces themselves. Luckily there are several pieces of equipment that are going to make sure they stay in shape.
Your facemask is going to be the first piece of equipment that will make sure you do not injure yourself by wearing braces in football.
The facemask is going to ensure that no player is able to contact your face throughout the game. In order for an injury to occur with braces you are likely going to need to be contacted in the mouth area.
With a facemask on this makes the likelihood of this happening very slim. Additionally, the majority of football players are going to wear mouthguards which offer another layer of protection when it comes to playing football with braces.
What To Do If Playing Football With Braces
Playing football with braces is totally safe but there are still a few precautions you should follow in order to make sure you do not have to take an extra trip to the orthodontist.
The first step is to find a helmet that fits. With a facemask on there is almost no way you are going to be contacted in the face by an opposing player. But if you have a loose-fitting helmet you may find that it could move out of place potentially expose you to injury.
In order to make sure your facemask is in place to protect you be sure that your helmet fits properly.
Secondly, if you are going to play American football with braces you want to make sure you have a proper mouthguard.
Nowadays most athletes tend to use custom-fit mouthguards when they play sports. These mouthguards are usually boiled and then placed into the atheletes mouth in order to take the shape of their teeth.
Unforananetly if you have braces your teeth are going to moving in your mouth as the braces staighten them out. Since your teeth are moving a regular mouthguard like this isn’t going to fit you very well.
Instead, reach out to an orthodontist to get a mouthguard that is meant for players with braces. In most cases they will offer you a mouthgaurd built specifically for athletes with braces which features extra room for your braces themselves.
So long as you have a proper fitting helmet and a good mouthguard you should have no worries about having braces while playing football.
To learn more about football equipment check out our guides to football girdles and football underwear.
