Protecting Smiles of Future Champions by Neil Photay and David Hands

As schools across the U.K. celebrate National School Sport week, we look at the benefits of sport participation and how we can ensure our children are kept safe.

There are many reasons for encouraging children and young people to get involved in sports. Whether individual pursuits or team games, sporting activities offer various health benefits while also helping children develop myriad new skills.

Physical health
The most obvious health benefit of sport is to help children maintain a healthy weight. The figures from the National Child Measurement Programme for 2015– 16 showed that 19.8 percent of Year 6 children (ages 10-11) were obese, and 14.3 percent were overweight.¹ Perhaps even more concerning, 9.3 percent of children in Reception (ages 4–5) were obese and 12.8 percent overweight. Physical activity should help tackle these figures, although it must be combined with education for parents and dietary advice.

Sports can have a very positive influence over other health conditions as well. For example, studies have found physical activity to increase bone mass, density and strength^2,3—particularly if the activity is begun before or at puberty⁴—which can help reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis in later life. Evidence suggests that sporting participation can reduce the risk of various other chronic diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.⁵ Sport is also believed to help improve cardiovascular endurance and lower blood pressure, in turn reducing the risk of heart disease.⁶

Body and mind
There also are a plethora of psychological and social benefits available for children who take part in sporting activities.⁷ Studies suggest that physical activity could reduce depression and anxiety,⁸ while also enabling adolescents to cope better with stressful life events.⁹ While more research is needed to establish a stronger correlation between mental health and exercise in children, the results so far are encouraging.

Other life skills gained when playing sports might include learning to lose, improving patience and dedication, respecting authority and controlling emotions. With team sports, children also learn to work in groups and develop both social and communication skills. All these help to equip children with skills they will need throughout their lives.

Spreading the word
Promoting the many benefits of physical activity among children and young people, the Youth Sport Trust’s National School Sport Week will be celebrated in the UK June 26–30. The initiative, ‘Power of 3,’ encourages more young people to get involved in sports, offering every registered primary school or nursery free access to fun tools to inspire activities and find new ways of staying active. (For more information, visit youthsporttrust.org/national-school- sport-week.)

Safety first
While we can all appreciate the advantages of physical activity for children and adolescents (and adults, too), it’s important that they’re safe when participating. Sports vary in intensity and frequency of contact, and every child should have access to the right protective equipment. Sports such as rugby, boxing, martial arts, hockey and lacrosse run a high chance of injury to the mouth, particularly as children get older and the hits become harder and more regular. As such, mouth guards are a must. They are a mandatory requirement set by most UK schools for children participating in these sports, but if they’re not, it’s a parent’s responsibility to ensure their children are sufficiently protected.

Education of the risks is essential to help patients and their parents make the best decisions for them. A good mouth guard from an early age is an investment in their child’s future dental health and smile aesthetics, protecting both the teeth and gums from damage.

For the device to be most effective, it’s also necessary to demonstrate the benefits of a custom-made mouth guard as opposed to the one-size-fits-all ‘boil and bite’ alternatives. Saber Protect mouth guards, for example, are designed and manufactured by dental technicians according to your patient’s exact anatomy, the type of sport they play and the competitive level they participate at, providing far superior protection.

Building a brighter future
It’s clear that physical activity is integral to the young generation’s future well being. Ensuring they are able to participate in a safe way, however, is imperative. Fortunately, the modern dental team has the skills and the tools to protect their child patients’ oral health now and for years to come. Saber Protect custom-made mouth guards are produced by CosTech Dental Laboratory.