The Boston Bruins hockey team has partnered with the Forsyth Institute to provide custom mouthguards to student athletes at Lynn Classical High School for the spring sports season.
Athletes from the baseball, softball, and lacrosse teams will be invited to have an impression taken for a custom mouthguard in the school’s colors. Student athletes will receive a custom-made mouthguard each calendar year at no charge to them, their parents, or the school.
“Mouthguards have been shown to prevent oral injuries for athletes in sports where collisions with an opponent, ball, puck, or other object are possible,” said Raffi Miller, Clinical Director of the ForsythKids program at the Forsyth Institute. “Mouthguards can help protect or lessen the injury to the athlete’s teeth, jaws, lips, tongue, and face. A custom mouthguard fits snuggly over the upper teeth and acts as a cushion that absorbs some of the force of a collision, hit, or fall.”
While the current partnership will provide mouthguards to students at Lynn Classical High School, the Forsyth Institute plans to expand the program to more schools in the future. The expansion will also include mouthguards for athletes participating in fall and winter sports where contact injuries are possible.
“We are proud to partner with ForsythKids to help keep student athletes safe,” said Charlie Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer and Alternate Governor for the Boston Bruins. “Hockey players know first-hand how important mouthguards are for preventing oral injuries. We’re happy to support this important initiative and the work of the Forsyth Institute.”
The Forsyth Institute is the only independent research institute in the United States specializing in oral health and its impact on overall wellness. The ForsythKids program is a school-based mobile dental program that brings preventive dental care to Massachusetts children of all ages at schools, day care centers, neighborhood facilities, summer camps, and public events. For more than a decade, ForsythKids has provided free dental care to tens of thousands of children throughout Massachusetts.
