Bell Ringers and Mouth Guards
 

OK, I know somebody will eventually put the safety police icon in this thread, but wanted to know if anyone is riding with mouth guards. Last year I tried an inside out backroll that resulted in knee to chin, a few stitches and that great white flash of light. The geometry in mouth was off for a couple of weeks and was on the milk shake diet for a little while.

Fast forward to yesterday and my son landed short on a tantrum with knee to face (guess it is a father son thing) and he was concussed for almost the entire day, cracked a tooth and has another that is loose, and his jaw looks like he just lost a match in the octagon. Still waiting to see what the dental bill is going to be. :confused: He must have asked a 1000 times how he ended up in ER, where is brother is, and if he is still going out with his ex-girlfriend. The fog has lifted now and he can now remember just about everything up until he rode.

It seems a mouth guard would have been a useful ounce of prevention and not that I'm not capable of marching to my own drummer, but wanted to see what others are doing of if anyone had data on the usefullness of mouth guards when riding behind a boat. I have never ridden with one, but am thinking of using one and requiring one for my kids at least when trying new inverts.

It is one thing to knock yourself silly, but all the more scary when it is one of your kids. Safe to say my son will be taking all the head precautions for the next 2-4 weeks.

I've never heard of anyone riding with a mouth gaurd but I would deffinately invest in a good helmet.

i got my first good bell ringer yesterday. It was one of those "men in black" moments that cost me about 30 minutes of my life. I don't remember getting into the boat or filming for about 20 minutes. I am now thinking about a helmet.

Just got a text from dental office...three cracked teeth and some oral surgery being scheduled now. I feel terrible for my kid and the parental guilt is mounting fast. Crap.

Andrew A rides with a mouth guard. A while back he had his fronts knocked out...so its not a bad idea either.

i ride with a mouth guard from similar situations. 99 cents

I recently read an article in the newspaper talking about not allowing kids to concentrate or study too hard after getting a concussion. Best wishes on the recovery. I know some people at the cable park have used mouth guards.

Mouth guard couldnt hurt, and they are relatively cheap. Before I had my all season ender, broke my back, I had been looking into ordering a helmet. I would definitely get one.
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I've done the knee to face on a Heel 5. I guess I've already paid my dues with broken teeth. They were spared and instead I split my chin. I have 15K + invested in my teeth.

I don't know. You have to draw the line somewhere, and the chances of it happening again are probably slim. I suppose we could all wear helmets, mouth guards, ear plugs, and knee braces, but what's next?

I took a knee to the face last year and broke a tooth. Luckily it was one of my molers. I always try to remember to wear a mouth guard now especially when trying new tricks. I'm just glad I didn't knock out my front teeth like Andrew did. Fixing teeth is expensive! On a side note, I think its funny how no one buys protective gear until after they hurt themselves. i.e. Andrew and me wear mouth guards now but never did before. Chances are we will never take a chin to the face again, and don't even need the mouth guard. But I bet someone else will take a knee to the face one day, breaking teeth, someone who thinks they don't need to wear one.

I've taken a knee to the chin twice requiring stitches. The second time I broke 4 teeth--I now wear a mouth guard--$6,000 in dental bills. I wear a helmet and a mouth guard always.

I played football in High School and in college and was a Quarterback. Never wore much of mouth guard in High School (chewed it to nothing just so I could say I had one) then in College all QBs went to the dentist and got form fitting mouth guards. I wish I still had that even tho it was almost 20 years ago now. I can say I would think about one especially if they are really form fitting. When I was playing with that in I never took it out, it fit so well I could talk normal and half the time I (nor the refs sometimes) would know I had it in. Check with your dentist. They can't be that expensive, all they did was had us bite into a moulding. Pretty cool stuff actually. 2 or 3 days later our stuff came in. Heck typing this now, I am thinking of asking one of my dentist friends to make me one. If you are slick, you can put it in and take it out without anyone knowing you have one in. If you are worried about being "cool"

got me thinking about wearing one

I've been wearing one for a few years. Chipped a tooth a wee bit and put one of my teeth through my tongue a few springs ago. Been wearing one since!

It is a bit ironic but normal that you do not think about safety devices until AFTER an incident. Most of go around thinking that it will never happen to me until it does happen. Son has an appointment with oral surgeon and will inquire about custom mouthguards.

Where to draw the line is boils down to personal choice. Most people draw the line before they ever strap on a wakeboard - just too risky for them. Believe my wifee wants us to draw the line there and sell the boat, but she knows that will never happen. If a device can clearly protect without too much expense or significantly hinder you from wakeboarding, seems it should be a go. Yeah there is a vanity cool factor, but walking around with busted teeth not knowing if your still going out with your girfriend is def. not cool.

yeah ask about those mouth pieces I think he will like them.

Was thinking about wearing one when trying to new tricks back in 08' for those reasons mentioned. Bought one and form fitted it and everything. Was not wearing it, went for a 3 and came down wrong with a knee to the chin while sticking tongue out (why I have idea, trying to be like MJ I guess). Broke a tooth in the back, bit into the tongue, and reopened an old wound on the chin. Had to have stitches in the tongue and chin. Now its a mental block if I don't wear it I can't go big. Wearing it also keeps me aware of keeping my tongue in my mouth.

They are a good idea when doing tricks. Not only do they save your teeth they also help prevent concussions. Honestly any sport where there is potential for hitting your head they are useful.