Mouth Guards: When You Clench Your Teeth

At Torrey Hills Dental, we not only focus on family and cosmetic dentistry, but we specialize in sports dentistry as well, with mouth guards being the primary focus.  Many athletes who play contact sports, such as football and basketball, wear mouth guards to protect their teeth, and prevent injury from happening to them.  But Torrey Hills Dental also makes a lot of mouth guards for those who participate in non-contact sports as well, such as biking, golf or tennis.  Although, there is no contact in these sports, wearing a mouth guard is a way to enhance one’s performance.

When you clench your teeth, something that many athletes do when biking, climbing a wall, or even hitting a golf ball, your TMJ joint will begin to release cortisol, a hormone that causes the body to slow down and fatigue.  As a competitive athlete, regardless of which sport you play, this is the last thing you want to do, hence the importance of wearing a mouth guard.  Mouth guards are a great way to not only prevent injury to your teeth, but increase your sports performance as well!

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Born and raised in San Diego, Dr. James Tasto attended University of San Diego where he lettered in both golf and wrestling. After earning a Bachelors in Science from Loyola Marymount University, Dr. Tasto graduated from University of Southern California Dental School with an emphasis on cosmetics and sports dentistry.  Dr. James Tasto was selected by his peers to be included in the List of Top Dentists in San Diego for 2007 – 2011.  He appeared in the May issue of San Diego Magazine.  Dr. Tasto is also a member of D.O.C.S. (Doctors Offering Charitable Services), a local organization that offers medical services such as plastic surgery, vision and dental to the less fortunate patients in San Diego.  Dr. Tasto currently resides in San Diego with his lovely wife Traci and their 3 children. He enjoys golf, beach volleyball and playing with his kids.