Playing sport with braces: how do you protect your mouth?

Quick answer: You can simply keep playing sport with braces. For contact sports, a mouthguard is the most important thing: a standard one from the sports shop is not designed for brackets, so ask your practitioner what fits. Aligners are not a mouthguard and come out for contact sports. If a bracket comes loose without pain, it can usually wait until the next working day.

The season has just started, the first matches are in the app, and the braces have only recently gone in. Then almost always the same question follows: are they still allowed on the pitch?

Yes. Sport does not have to wait until the braces come off, and that is just as well, because a treatment easily lasts a few seasons. So the question is not whether you can play sport, but how you protect your mouth while you do.

For most sports, nothing changes. Running, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, cycling: you do not need to do anything extra for those.

It is about sports where an elbow, stick, ball or hand can hit your mouth. Think of football, hockey, basketball, handball, rugby, water polo and martial arts. In that type of sport, a mouthguard (also called a gum shield) is the thing to think about, with or without braces. International professional associations of dentists have been advising this for years, and with fixed braces it applies just as much. What does change is how you arrange it.

Four things come up in practice, ranging from annoying to really unpleasant.

1. A bracket that comes loose. The bracket comes away from the tooth and stays hanging on the wire. Irritating, but rarely urgent.
2. A wire that starts to poke. The wire can bend or stick out at the end and then poke into your cheek. Within a day, that gives you a sore spot.
3. Small cuts to the lip or cheek. With a hard knock, the soft tissue is pushed against the parts of the braces. The edges of the brackets and wire can then cause a small wound.
4. Damage to the tooth itself. A chipped corner, a tooth that becomes loose, or in the most extreme case a tooth that is knocked out. That can happen with or without braces and is the reason mouth protection for contact sports exists.

The fact that braces make the first three more likely is no reason to stop playing sport, but it is a reason to take protection seriously. There is more about this on our page about risks and inconveniences.

A mouthguard is a flexible cover over your teeth. It spreads the force of the knock and at the same time puts a layer between your braces and your lip.

What it is not: a guarantee. In a summary of international research (compiled by the ADA, the American Dental Association, updated in 2026), athletes wearing a mouthguard clearly suffer injuries to the teeth and face less often. But mouthguard wearers got injured too, and the British professional association for orthodontics explicitly adds that absolute protection does not exist. It reduces the risk, nothing more. That is still worth a lot.

Why a standard one is often not enough

The sports shop usually has two types: a ready-made model in standard sizes, and a version that you put in hot water and then bite into. Both are designed for teeth without braces.

With fixed braces, the shape is where it goes wrong. Brackets and wire stick out, so the cover no longer lies smoothly against the teeth. A guard that does not fit well stays in place less well and therefore does its job less well. Too tight is not the answer either: one that closes tightly around the parts of the braces can put strain on those parts when you put it in and take it out.

There are models made specially for people with braces, with more room for the brackets. Which version suits your mouth and your sport is the kind of question someone needs to look at. Ask your practitioner or your own dentist. The right choice depends on your braces, your teeth and how rough things get on your pitch.

Two things that often come up:

• Top only, or bottom too. The upper jaw is the standard. If there are brackets on your lower teeth as well, or your bite is different, protection for the lower teeth may be discussed. Not a fixed rule, but a judgement call.
• Reassessing along the way. Your teeth move: that is the whole idea. A guard that fitted perfectly in October will fit differently in March. Bring it along to a check-up.

Clear aligners are thin and hard, and made to move teeth, not to absorb a knock. So an aligner is not a mouthguard. That is also the position of the major orthodontic professional associations: for contact sports, the aligner comes out and the mouthguard goes in.

For non-contact sports, it is less clear-cut. For running, cycling or the gym there is no general advice to take it out, and your wearing time simply keeps counting. Do check anyway, because your wearing schedule and your sport determine the answer.

One practical point that prevents a lot of damage: the aligner belongs in its case. Not loose in a sports bag, not in a trouser pocket, and not wrapped in a napkin on the sidelines. In a pocket it breaks; in a napkin it ends up in the bin.

If you wear a bonded retainer behind your teeth after treatment, the same applies as with fixed braces: a knock can loosen it. What to do then is explained on our page about a broken bonded retainer.

Staying calm helps: most things are not urgent.

This can wait until the next working day:

• A loose bracket that stays hanging on the wire and does not poke. Leave it alone, do not pull on it.
• A wire that sticks out a little. Cover it with a small ball of orthodontic wax, or otherwise with a little wad of clean paper. Call the next morning for an appointment.
• A lost aligner. Put your previous set back in and get in touch.

Call straight away for these:

• A tooth is looser, has shifted or is broken.
• Heavy bleeding, or a wound that will not close.
• A wire stuck deep in the cheek or gum.
• So much pain that you cannot eat or sleep.

If a permanent tooth has been knocked out of the mouth, that is an emergency. The Dutch advice: hold the tooth by the crown and not by the root, rinse it very briefly if necessary (preferably with milk), and keep it in milk or in the person's own mouth between the cheek and the back teeth. The sooner it is put back, the greater the chance of success, and within an hour is best. Call a dentist immediately. A baby tooth is never put back. See also our page about emergencies.

Our practice is in the centre of Amsterdam, on the Teniersstraat close to the Museumplein. Lotte Meereboer is a dentist specialising in orthodontics (Drs. MSc Orthodontics) and treats children, teenagers and adults.

Many of our young patients play sport several times a week, so these questions come up here all season long. At a check-up we look at how the braces are holding up and discuss what is sensible for your sport. If something is bothering you between appointments, feel free to call. You can read how an appointment like that goes under our consultations, and there is more about the place itself on the page about the clinic.

Can my child play football or hockey with fixed braces?

Yes. Braces are no reason to stop playing sport. For contact sports, though, a mouthguard is called for, and it needs to suit the braces. Discuss with your practitioner or your own dentist which version is suitable.

Can I just use a mouthguard from the sports shop?

Not necessarily. Standard models are made for teeth without braces and often do not fit well over brackets and wire. A guard that does not fit properly protects less. There are models designed for people with braces: raise the question at your next check-up.

Does my aligner protect me while I play sport?

No. An aligner is thin and hard and not made to absorb a knock. For contact sports you take it out and wear a mouthguard. Keep it in its case, not in your sports bag or trouser pocket.

A bracket came loose during the match. Do I need to call now?

If the bracket is still attached to the wire, nothing is poking and there is no pain, it can wait until the next working day. If something is poking, cover it with orthodontic wax and call the next morning.

Does a mouthguard prevent damage to my braces?

It reduces the risk, but guarantees nothing. Even with a well-fitting guard, something can come loose with a hard knock. That is no reason to leave it out: without one, the chance of injury is clearly greater.

Would you like to know more or request a no-obligation consultation? Contact our practice in Amsterdam.