At last year's mouth guard clinic, Dr. Ken May shows dental students Lauren Morrison (right) and Irene Cho the proper way to trim a mouth guard after it was precisely fitted to an impression of a patient's mouth.
Father-son hockey players Craig and Hunter Hatcher of Westland show their new mouth guards during last year's clinic. They have been coming to the annual School of Dentistry event since 2011.
Ann Arbor, Mich., July 11, 2017 -– Athletes who will participate in sports this fall and winter can have a free, customized mouth guard made for them during the University of Michigan School of Dentistry’s annual Mouth Guard Clinic on Saturday, July 29.
Athletes ages 5 and older, including those who wear braces, are invited to be fitted for a mouth guard, which helps protect their teeth and mouth from injuries due to sports contact.
Dental and dental hygiene students, supervised by clinical faculty members, will make mouth guards for the first 120 athletes who register on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is from 8 a.m-10:30 a.m. on the second floor of the School of Dentistry, 1011 N. University Ave. A parent or guardian must accompany children under 18 years old. The fitting procedure takes approximately one hour. The mouth guards come in a variety of colors.
A customized mouth guard is an important piece of equipment for athletes of all ages, said Dr. Kenneth May, associate professor of dentistry. “Custom mouth guards made by our dental and dental hygiene students are comfortable to wear and more likely to be used than one purchased at a store,” he said. A properly fitted mouth guard helps to protect teeth and to minimize injuries to the mouth as a result of a fall or other contact to the head or body, May said.
Mouth guard clinic participants can park for free in the Fletcher Street parking ramp on the north side of the School of Dentistry by taking the “up” ramp to the plaza level.
For more information, call 734-531-9426, or email mouthguardclinic2017@umich.edu.
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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care and community service. General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan. Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists, and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies. Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide. For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.
Contact: Lynn Monson, associate director of communication, at dentistry.communications@umich.edu, or (734) 615-1971.