Rink Insurance for Your Smile
Manotick runs on hockey and ringette seasons, and every winter brings a familiar patient to dental offices across Ottawa: the kid (or the beer-league veteran) holding a tooth in a cup of milk. Sports cause a huge share of all dental injuries — chipped teeth, fractured roots, knocked-out front teeth, split lips and worse. A properly fitted mouthguard prevents most of that damage, and a custom one is comfortable enough that it actually stays in the mouth, where protection happens.
Custom vs. Store-Bought: The Honest Comparison
Stock guards (pre-formed, one size fits nobody) protect poorly and interfere with breathing — most end up in a glove or a gym bag by the second period.
Boil-and-bite guards are better than nothing, but they're bulky, they loosen as they're chewed, and the fit depends on a nine-year-old's one attempt at biting into hot plastic.
Custom guards are made from precise impressions of your athlete's mouth, in professional-grade material at the right thickness for the sport. They grip securely without clenching, let players breathe and call the play, and take impact the way they're engineered to. That comfort difference is the compliance difference — and compliance is everything.
We can even make them in team colours. Wear-your-guard arguments go noticeably better when the guard is cool.
Quick to Get, Easy to Live With
One short visit for impressions — easily added to a check-up or cleaning — and a quick fitting when it's ready. For growing kids we check the fit each season, since erupting adult teeth change the landscape quickly. Rinse it after games, store it in its vented case (not the bottom of the bag), and bring it to dental visits for a quick inspection.
If the Worst Happens Anyway
No guard makes anyone invincible. Keep our number in your phone — (613) 491-3300 — and know the knocked-out-tooth drill: crown-only handling, quick rinse, back in the socket or into cold milk, and to us within the hour. We provide same-day emergency care, and yes, we've saved teeth straight from the rink.
Season's coming. Book a mouthguard fitting or add one to your family's next check-up.
Sports Guards — Frequently Asked Questions
Which sports need a mouthguard?
Any sport with contact, collisions, sticks, pucks, balls or hard surfaces — hockey, ringette, football, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, martial arts, skateboarding and mountain biking all qualify. Dental injuries are common even in 'non-contact' sports; elbows don't read the rulebook.
Why is a custom guard better than a boil-and-bite?
Fit and protection. A custom guard is moulded from exact impressions, so it stays put without clenching, distributes impact evenly, allows normal breathing and talking, and doesn't get chewed loose mid-game. Athletes actually keep them in — which is the protection that counts.
How often does my child need a new sports guard?
Growing mouths change fast — for kids and teens, we check fit each season and typically remake every year or two, especially while adult teeth are erupting. Adults can often use the same guard for several seasons.
What should we do if a tooth gets knocked out during a game anyway?
For an adult tooth: find it, handle it by the crown, rinse briefly, reinsert it into the socket if possible (or store in cold milk) and call us immediately — timing within 30–60 minutes matters enormously. For a baby tooth, don't reinsert — but do come in promptly.