Paul gets his teeth into the problems with gumshields

He has worked and perfected the mouthguard of a world champion boxer to enhance performance, now Galway City native Paul O’Dea is looking to do the same for sportspeople locally as he introduces his custom-fit gumshield to the West of Ireland market.

Since returning from England and setting up his new business, Atlantis Dental Laboratory on Middle Street in Galway last October, O’Dea has been endeavouring to promote his product, which he stresses is a more comfortable fit than the ‘boil and bite’ gum shields presently available in sporting outlets.

For Gaelic footballers, in particular, the wearing of a mouth guard is a new concept after the GAA only made them mandatory for players in all grades since January 1 of 2014. It had already applied to underage players for the year previous to this.

Under GAA rules, a player can be sent off in a game for not wearing a mouth piece – no mouthguard, no game – while, more importantly, a player will not be covered under the GAA player injury scheme if they don’t comply with the rules. Given the price of dental, it can be an avoidable cost.

At any rate, it has been a real culture change for Gaelic footballers, especially for the older brigade who have struggled to adapt. However, the dental costs being paid out to players under the GAA’s injury scheme, one suspects, was becoming increasingly difficult to fund and action had to be taken.

“They say that a third of all dental injuries in Ireland are sport related,” outlines O’Dea. “That makes us the highest in Europe, which makes sense with all the contact sports, like GAA and rugby.”

Indeed, the GAA website notes a survey of Irish parents found the cost of emergency dental treatment for sport-related dental injuries in children to average at €214.23. The GAA highlights that studies have also shown that the overall injury risk is close to twice as high when a mouthguard is not worn.

By introducing the mouthguard into Gaelic football, a leading oral surgeon believed the number of facial injuries would fall by 80% while dental injuries would reduce by 60%. O’Dea agrees, asking would a player prefer to wear a gum shield and have a full set of teeth or wear dentures instead?

“I would rather have a good fitting gum shield than having to wear a denture until I am old and lose my teeth naturally. It just makes sense to protect your teeth, especially with the price of getting them fixed these days. It is not cheap.

“I have been reading the different blogs on the internet and they (GAA players) are complaining – ‘I hate these gum shields; what a stupid rule!’ – but if they had a nice comfortable one that fits properly they would get used to it. The ‘boil and bite’ are just there; they are not fixing the problem. They are a short term solution.”

So, what is O’Dea offering? To explain, he must first assess what is currently on the market – the basic ‘boil and bite’ gum shield and the British company’s OPRO custom-fitted range, which players can procure through a visit to their dentist or dental clinic.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.