Although a dental injury is commonly associated with contact sports, such as football, rugby, hockey, and boxing, dental and other oral injuries may also occur as a result of contact with people or objects during many other athletic activities, including basketball, soccer, squash, gymnastics, skateboarding, and taekwondo. In essence, all sports activities contain an element of risk of dental injury.
For people who wear braces or other fixed orthodontic appliances, it is especially important to have a sports mouth guard that fits properly. An impact to the mouth can damage the brackets and wires of the braces and can also cause added cuts and tears to the soft tissue inside your mouth.