Braces are an orthodontic method that uses tools to bring you beautiful teeth and a confident smile. However, do braces have any effect on health and performance, especially for boxers? Should you do boxing with braces or not? To find the most accurate answer, please refer to our article below.
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Risk of Boxing with Braces
Although there are many different ways to adjust your teeth, braces are the most common for bringing the right joint to the correct ratio. It also helps improve your confidence when having perfect teeth.
However, in aggressive sports environments like boxing, braces can cause many disadvantages.
The biggest problem is the susceptibility to injury from high-impact attacks. Many boxers have a habit of attacking the jaw because this is a vulnerable part, so it will be very dangerous if you have braces. Sticks that are fixed on the teeth can slip, cut, or puncture the gums or the oral cavity.
For those who are lucky, this injury will only hurt and bleed. But in more severe cases, iron or metal pieces can also become trapped in the gums or between teeth, puncturing the pulp, causing extreme pain.
Furthermore, during orthodontics, your teeth will become weaker than usual. Because when we have braces, we are reshaping our teeth, forcing the tooth to not grow in its original position, making the teeth weaker. If you get punched too hard, your teeth will break easily. Trust us, as we know you definitely don’t want that.
How to Stay Safe When Boxing with Braces
Wear Mouth Guard
The tooth guard is one of the essential items for athletes of martial arts such as boxing. They are made of plastic, tightly fitting the user’s teeth. This object’s effect is to reduce the impact of external forces on the teeth (such as force from a punch).
Without a jaw guard, external force from punches, kicks, and strong impacts can cause tooth fractures and injury to the lips, tongue, face, and jawbone. Besides, the jaw guard retains the soft flesh tissue in the mouth, creating a space so that teeth do not bite them. From there, boxers can avoid the situation of torn cheeks and lips, especially for those who are wearing braces.
An ideal tooth guard will not interfere with breathing and talking. It is fixed on the teeth, even when the wearer is active. At the same time, the braces must be durable, easy to clean, and not smelly or taste unpleasant. In case you feel pain or discomfort, you should immediately stop wearing jaw protection to avoid unfortunate consequences.
Wear Headgear
In boxing, the face always has to receive the most punches. Thus, all dangerous parts of the face must be properly protected, especially the skull and jawbone. That’s why a boxing helmet is a savior for athletes who are wearing orthodontic equipment.
The most common type of hat for boxers is the hood. Full-face helmets cover the head, with the back covering the entire skull and protected area in front of the chin. This helmet always has a gap in the front eye and nose barrier. This type helps provide the safest protection for your teeth as it can cover most direct injuries to the jaw and skull.
Less common is the Open Face or 3/4 headgear. This device still covers the back of the skull but lacks a chin bar like a full-face type. The user can still trust the 3/4 headgear protection as it can protect them from the forces exerted on the skull. From there, your teeth will also be safe.
Practice Defense
Supporting technique in boxing is simple but solid self-defense. It helps boxers withstand blows at any distance and fight back, including hand support and shoulder.
This may seem obvious, but it is the decisive factor for the safety of your teeth. The reason is because the protective devices cannot completely protect against the impact force but only minimize them. When your teeth are as vulnerable as braces, a punch to the jawbone is dangerous and will result in immediate injury. Hand and shoulder supports will prevent the face and jaw from coming into direct contact with the punching force.
Furthermore, practicing defense will help you increase your personal technical abilities and learn how to take advantage of opportunities to counterattack.
Conclusion
With braces, your performance and training will be affected. In this case, your teeth will become more vulnerable, so you need to be more careful in competition and practice. You can completely practice boxing with braces but remember to use protective equipment to ensure your safety. We hope you find this information helpful, and thank you for reading.
