What is Eileen Gu Biting in Her Mouth?
In the women’s freestyle skiing platform finals at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Chinese athlete Eileen Gu made an amazing last jump and won the championship. Attentive viewers may have discovered that during the game, Eileen Gu bit something similar to a brace in her mouth.
“This is a protective brace, which is different from the braces commonly used in clinics to straighten teeth. It is mainly used to protect athletes’ teeth and even their brains from harm. Athletes need to wear such protective braces for boxing and other sports.” said Li Zhiyong, chief physician of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine.
Li Zhiyong said that our teeth are divided into upper and lower rows. The lower row of teeth grows on the mandible. In the freestyle ski jumping competition, the impact of falling from a height of 50 meters is great in an instant. If you do not wear protective braces, under the huge impact force, the upper and lower rows of teeth will collide violently, which will cause tooth damage and even damage to the tongue. “We often treat patients with dental trauma due to car accident or fall. Under the impact of an instant force, the teeth are broken or even hit into the bones.”
Why do protective braces also protect the brain? Li explained that our mandible is shaped like a horseshoe, and the condyles at both ends of the mandible and the articular fossa of the skull are connected by the temporomandibular joint. “The condyle is like the end of a stick, right in the pit-like structure of the articular fossa of the skull. The bone wall of the joint socket is very thin, only in 2-3 mm thick. If the mandible is hit hard and the condyle is broken, it may puncture the bone wall of the joint socket and penetrate into the brain, causing great damage. Soft braces, on the other hand, can play a very good role in buffering, preventing damage to teeth, bones and brain. Therefore, athletes, especially who participate in such high-impact sports, still need to wear protective braces. “
Li Zhiyong also mentioned that the fracture of the mandibular condyle bone and poking into the brain requires a certain amount of strength and direction, so the probability of occurrence is still relatively small.
There are currently three types of protective braces. One is universal, which is divided into different sizes and can be used when the size matches the approximate size of the teeth. Another one will become soft when heated while harden in the mouth. It can be relatively matched with the teeth. There is also a custom type. The dentist will take a dental model and make a set of braces that exactly match the teeth on this model.
For sports that may collide, such as basketball, football, cycling, etc., if conditions permit, we recommend that everyone get a protective brace. Safety first.
