If your family lives along Burke Mountain, your spring and fall calendars probably look a lot like ours: early-morning ice times at Poirier, soccer at Mundy Park, lacrosse box scrimmages, and a household calendar held together with whichever app has the most recent update. With the new Burke Mountain Athletic Park set to open later this year, even more local kids will be lacing up for organized sport on home turf. That is genuinely exciting — and it is also a reminder that the unglamorous pieces of gear matter most.
Mouthguards rarely make it onto the "must remember" list the way skates, cleats, or sticks do. But of every item in a youth athlete's bag, a properly fitted custom mouthguard is one of the few things that quietly does its job every practice, every game, every season. For the families who have been with us through first checkups, first wiggly teeth, and first travel teams, we wanted to share what we have learned about getting mouthguards right for kids on Burke Mountain.
Why our team takes mouthguards so personally
Dr. Lederer has been practising in Coquitlam for more than thirty years, and our clinic is the official dentist of the Coquitlam Express. Youth sport runs through the daily life of this practice — many of our hygienists and assistants are themselves hockey, soccer, and lacrosse parents. When a kid sits in our chair for a mouthguard fitting, we are not running through a script. We are thinking about the same drives to early-morning practice, the same tournaments in Kelowna or Kamloops, the same end-of-season banquets we all attend.
That is also why we will not rush a mouthguard. The Canadian Dental Association is clear that a properly fitted mouthguard, "preferably custom fitted by a dentist," lowers the risk of orofacial injuries because it is comfortable enough to stay in place at the moment of impact. The science is simple: a mouthguard only works if it is actually being worn correctly when contact happens. A guard that pinches, gags, or rattles loose ends up in the side pocket of a hockey bag before the second period.
Custom-made vs. boil-and-bite: what we tell parents
We do not believe in selling anyone a service they do not need, so we will say this honestly: for a young child trying organized sport for the first time, a boil-and-bite mouthguard from the local sports store can be a reasonable starting point. But once a child is playing in a structured league with regular contact — or once their adult teeth are coming in — the case for a custom mouthguard gets strong fast.
Here is what custom fabrication actually changes for your child:
What you get with a custom mouthguard from our clinic
- A guard that fits the mouth your child has today. We take a digital or physical impression of your child's current bite, including any erupting adult teeth, gaps, or orthodontic appliances.
- Real coverage where it counts. The thickness over the front teeth, the cushioning along the gumline, and the trim around the back molars are all calibrated to absorb impact without interfering with breathing.
- Speech and breathing that actually work. Kids stay quieter on the bench with a bulky boil-and-bite. A custom guard lets them call for the puck, shout for the pass, and breathe normally between shifts.
- A finish that holds up. A laboratory-fabricated mouthguard does not deform after a hot car ride, a dishwasher mishap, or a few months in a hockey bag.
- Colours and team designs. Yes, we do team colours. It is a small detail, but a kid who likes the look of their mouthguard is a kid who keeps it in.
That last point matters more than parents sometimes realise. Research out of the University of Calgary has linked mouthguard use in youth ice hockey with lower odds of concussion — but the protective effect only shows up when kids consistently wear them. A guard that lives in a backpack is, in practical terms, a guard that does not exist.
How we fit your athlete's mouthguard
For families who are new to the custom mouthguard process, here is what an appointment with us at our Austin Heights clinic actually looks like. We try to keep the visit short — usually about twenty to thirty minutes — because we know weekday afternoons in the Tri-Cities are already a logistical puzzle.
We start with a quick chat about the sport, the position, and any orthodontic work in progress or planned. A goalie with a cage and a forward without a full shield have different needs, and a child who is six months away from braces needs a different plan than a child who has been in clear aligners for a year. Then we take an impression — most of our young patients describe it as "not a big deal," which is about as much praise as a dental visit ever gets from a twelve-year-old.
The impression goes to our laboratory partner, the guard comes back within about a week, and we book a short fit appointment to make sure it sits cleanly against the teeth and gums without pressure points. If it needs a small adjustment, we make it on the spot. If your child is still growing into their adult dentition, we will talk about when to plan the next replacement so you are not caught mid-season without a guard.
Caring for a mouthguard so it lasts the season
A custom mouthguard is a real investment of time and money, and the difference between one that lasts a full year and one that warps in a month is almost entirely about care. We share the same short list with every family:
Rinse the guard with cool water after each use, then brush it gently with a toothbrush and mild soap once a week. Store it in the ventilated case we provide — not loose in a sports bag, not wrapped in a glove, not in a hot car. Bring it to every checkup. We will inspect it for cracks or thinning spots, and we can usually tell well before you can whether it is time to plan a replacement.
If your athlete is in braces or clear aligners, we will also coordinate the mouthguard plan with their orthodontic timeline. We have walked many Burke Mountain families through this overlap, and there is almost always a workable path that keeps both the teeth straight and the smile protected.
The local clinic that grows with your athlete
One of the quiet privileges of practising in Coquitlam for as long as we have is watching kids grow up in our chair. The teenager getting fitted for their U18 hockey mouthguard this fall is, in many cases, the same child who came in for their first cleaning at four. That continuity matters: we already know the bite, the orthodontic history, the anxiety triggers, the tooth that came in slightly rotated, the parent we should text rather than email. It is the kind of context a sports-store mouthguard cannot replicate.
We are also a multilingual, family-led practice — English, Tagalog, Hindi, Punjabi, Mandarin, Korean, and Arabic are all spoken on our team — and we participate in the Canadian Dental Care Plan. We mention this because youth sport in the Tri-Cities reflects the full diversity of this community, and we want every family on Burke Mountain to feel at home when they walk in. You can read more about our full range of services or get in touch with us directly through our contact page.
One small piece of gear, one big peace of mind
The Burke Mountain Athletic Park is going to change a lot about how local kids experience organized sport. More turf time, more lit evening practices, more competitive leagues close to home. We are looking forward to all of it — and we are quietly making sure the mouthguard side of the equation is ready when your athlete is.
If it has been a while since your child's last mouthguard, or if they are starting a new sport this season, your next checkup is a natural moment to bring it up. We will take a look, talk through whether a new guard makes sense, and build the plan around your family's schedule — not the other way around.