The Issaquah Press
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SPORTS
Page C4
Wednesday August 22, 2012
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BY GREG FARRAR
Katie Wilson (left), a dental assistant with Issaquah Dental Arts, and Issaquah High School incoming freshman Tyrus Tuiasosopo show how the plaster impression of his teeth was made for his mouth guard.
Dentists tackle football safety Eagles football players receive donation of mouth guards
WHAT TO KNOW Pro-Form mouth guards have five main benefits over store-bought mouth guards: 4your own dentist fits them 4better protection for the mouth, teeth and jaw 4better speech — an athlete speaks more clearly, allowing for better communication on the field 4better comfort 4more oxygen input — oxygen intake is restricted up to 25 percent when wearing generic storebought mouth guards.
By Matt Carstens ip-sports@isspress.com No one likes to go to the dentist. But when a few visits to the dental chair might prevent a lifetime of returning to the dentist instead of returning kick-offs to the end zone, Issaquah High School football players might just oblige. That’s what Dr. Chad Merkel and Dr. Justin Hansen are encouraging as they donate custom-fit mouth guards to the Issaquah High School football team. In a world where safety isn’t exactly the coolest thing, Merkel and Hansen know that if a comfortable and sleeker looking mouth guard is available, that might be what it takes to prevent injuries. “They’re required to wear something,” Merkel said. “So if we can make it more comfortable, and it looks cooler, then they’re more likely to wear it. That’s the idea.” Merkel and Hansen knew about the material and were asked by some of their patients
Source: Keystone Industries
BY GREG FARRAR
Tyrus Tuiasosopo (left) is handed his custom mouth guard by Dr. Chad Merkel to check out the fit. Merkel and Dr. Justin Hansen donated time and material for the Issaquah High School football team. if they made the mouth guards. With office manager Tasha Tuiasosopo’s son Tyrus on the football team, the pair of dentists decided to look further into the material. Tyrus’ father Zach Tuiasosopo, who played fullback for the University of Washington, said this was a unique opportunity for the
Triathlon tests top athletes Issaquah’s Jason Houck, Sammamish’s Andie Taylor are top local finishers By Lillian O’Rorke ltucker@ sammamishreview.com The buzz of hundreds of people chattering rose up from the shore of Beaver Lake Aug. 18 as athletes clad in Speedos and wetsuits waited for their turn to make a splash. The Beaver Lake Triathlon kicked off at about 8 a.m. with the first group of elite challengers disturbing the silky lake surface like a school of salmon. What followed was wave after wave of 50 swimmers each, making their way around the quarter-mile
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course before sprinting to the bike transition area. “It was very warm — we had that heat wave,” said Jason Renfroe, of Sammamish. “It’s a real short course. All you do is sprint as fast as you can, gulp a lot of water and tag your partner.” His teammate Steve Holton took over for the second cycling leg of the race. After finishing the 13.8-mile bike ride down and back up RedmondFall City Road, Holton was
young football players. “It’s not something you see a lot in high school football,” he said. “They all have to wear something, it’s a mandated rule, but the opportunity for them to get a custom-fitted mouth guard is very cool. There’s limited opportunities to get them. We never got them in high school.”
Even when Zach attended the UW, the opportunities for custom-fitted mouth guards were few and far between. “You were getting whatever you got at the local sports store or Fred Meyer,” Zach said. “But eventually we got them when I was in college, but even that was limited as well. To get them at
the high school level is awesome.” The biggest difference for the player is the comfort of the formfitting mouth guard compared to the one-size-fits-all approach taken by store-bought ones. “The biggest thing for us is comfort,” Zach said. “It’s a lot more comfortable and userfriendly. I’m not the doctor, but there might be benefits than just your standard form fitting.” Thicker is better And he’s right. According to the See DENTISTS, Page C5
Megan Worzella, 27, of Bellevue, leaves the transition area to begin the running leg of her winning the female 25-29 years of age category with an overall time of 1:33:33 in the Beaver Lake Triathlon. BY LILLIAN O’RORKE
See TRIATHLON, Page C5
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