A properly diagnosed, designed, and custom fabricated mouthguard is essential to prevent contact sports injuries to the teeth. As dental professionals, it’s important to educate parents and coaches about the limitations of stock and “boil-and-bite” mouthguards purchased at sporting goods stores. These options simply do not provide the optimum protection athletes expect.
Poorly fitting mouthguards are not customized for the athlete and cannot account for the personal differences that exist between individuals. If everyone had the same dentition, played the same sport, competed at the same level, and had the same size mouth and teeth, prescribing a standard mouthguard would be simple. However, every athlete’s mouth is different. This is exactly why buying a mouthguard online or from a sporting goods store is often a poor choice.
For example, athletes with braces require a specially designed mouthguard that allows for orthodontic movement without compromising protection or fit. This level of precision can only be achieved with a custom-made mouthguard designed specifically for the athlete’s dental structure and treatment needs.
The National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries reports that dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during sports participation. When a tooth is knocked out and not properly treated, the athlete may face dental costs of $10,000–$15,000 per tooth, not to mention hours in the dental chair and the potential for long-term complications such as bone loss.
According to the American Dental Association, mouthguards prevent approximately 200,000 injuries each year in high school and collegiate football alone.
A properly fitted mouthguard should be protective, comfortable, resilient, tear-resistant, odorless, tasteless, and not bulky. It should also allow minimal interference with speaking and breathing while offering excellent retention and sufficient thickness to prevent injury.
Stock mouthguards available at sporting goods stores and online rarely provide these benefits. They come in standard sizes and are often the least protective option. Many cost between $1 and $25 and are ready to use directly out of the package.
Unfortunately, these mouthguards are often bulky, lack retention, and must be held in place by constantly biting down on them. This interferes with both speech and breathing. Athletes frequently cut or modify them to improve comfort, which further reduces their protective capabilities.
Because of their poor retention and limited protection, dental professionals generally advise against using stock mouthguards.
Custom mouthguards are fabricated by a dentist using a mold of the athlete’s teeth. This allows both the dentist and athlete to address important factors that influence protection and comfort, including:
Because these mouthguards are designed by dental professionals, they provide superior adaptation, retention, comfort, and stability compared to store-bought options. They also interfere far less with speaking and studies show they have virtually no impact on breathing.
The highest-quality custom mouthguards are pressure laminated mouthguards. These are created on a stone cast of the athlete’s mouth using thermoplastic material that is heated and adapted with a specialized pressurized vacuum machine.
This process ensures:
The precise customization and controlled material thickness are what truly separate a professionally made mouthguard from a store-bought alternative.
Our custom-made mouthguards provide precise adaptation and maintain their shape even after extended use. The combination of high heat and pressure during fabrication reduces elastic memory in the material, helping the mouthguard retain its fit over time.
We can also reinforce specific areas and add inserts when additional protection is needed. This ensures each mouthguard is tailored to the athlete’s individual needs for maximum protection, comfort, and performance.
Our mouth guards are made from a lamination process incorporating two or more sheets of a 3mm EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) copolymer. The mouthguard is made on a cast of the athlete’s mouth creating a custom fit mouthguard with a minimum of 3 – 4mm of occlusal material thickness. This means it is Mom approved! We can customize the mouthguard with the school colors, team mascot or logo and the athlete’s name and jersey number. The process takes two short visits. The first visit is to take a mold of the athlete’s teeth. The second visit is to customize the bite and assure a perfect fit.
