Athletic Mouth Guards are customarily worn for protection as a part of personal / uniform safety requirements in many high-risk contact sporting events such as:
- Football
- soccer
- Boxing
- Hockey
- Raquetball
- Wrestling
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Surfing
- Polo
- Cricket
- Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
- & Many More
An injury to the face or mouth can happen even in non-contact sports that are physically demanding and strenuous, such as:
- Gymnastics
- Any type of Skating
- Biking and/or Cycling
- Boarding
- Skiing
- Climbing
- Racing
- Running
There are some intense occupations that also make use of athletic mouth guards.
Such as :
- Being a soldier
- Professional Bull Riding
- Jet piloting
- Being an Astronaut
Are All Athletic Mouth Guards The Same?
No, Sports mouth guards are not all the same. Mouth guards are designed for different impacts that are most common in sports. so a football player would not wear the same kind of mouth guard as let’s say a/an Soccer Player.
The are different options for sports mouth guards too.
- Some can be attached to helmets or shirts so they don’t get lost while running a field
- Some are unattached for more freedom for soccer players and basketball players
- Some cover only the top teeth and come with or without a lip guard
- Some have a separate top and bottom guard
- Some have a top and bottom guard that are not separate
- Some have a hole on top for better oxygen intake while your clamping down on the guard with your teeth and running.
- Some are your standard plastic acrylic etc.
- Some are for medical use repairing or treating conditions instead of for prevention.
There is plenty to choose from but the ultimate choice depends on:
- The sport you wish to play
- Your dental health care provider
- The amount of money you have
- The size and shape of your mouth
- Whether or not you want a custom fit
- Whether or not you want to choose flavored or non flavored
- The amount of protection that is neededthe size and shape of your mouth
Advancements In Athletic Mouth Guards
Mouth guards have been essential safety gear in professional sports since 1962. They have been around much longer than that. By the late 1920’s it was boxing that popularized mouth guards, when chipped teeth began to plague the industry.
Since then, Sports medicine has had recent groundbreaking technology that has led to some amazing and crucial advancements in the evolution of athletic/sport mouth guards.
Some of the best advancements towards improving mouth guards include:
- A Slimmer Fitting
- A More Ergonomical design
- Hole Modifications Designed for Better Breathing
- Different flavored Mouth Guards
- Better Customizations
A Slimmer Fit
Making the mouth guard easier to fit inside your mouth helps in several ways. It’s easier to clamp down on and doesn’t block your breathing as much as the older models do.
A More Ergonomical Design
makes your mouth guard feel less like you just stuck a giant lump of plastic into your mouth and more like something that was specially designed to go inside of your mouth.
Hole Modifications for Better Breathing
Holes in the roof of sports mouth guards can now give you better breathing and oxygen flow with less interruption, restricting your breathing when your mouth is clamped down onto the guard and your breathing is rapid from exertion.
Different Flavored Mouth Guards
Adding different flavors to mouth guard helps to trick your mind into locking onto the mouth guard while you’re running, Plus it’s a luxury when your mouth has started to go dry from all the running and exerting yourself, while engaged in the sport of your choice.
Better Customizations
Now you can really be unique out on the field, court, or ring, with the amazing customization options that are available today.
Adding flare and style.Now you can set yourself apart from your the other members on your sports team. There is even a sports mouth guard that gives the viewer the illusion you are sucking on a pacifier.
Popularized by NFL superstars, the customization business for mouth guards has really rose to the challange of incorporating different personal touches and amazing art, decals, color, and textures in their designing.
Using Mouth Guards To Prevent Sport Injuries
The biggest improvements have come with Opro-mouth guard and their cutting edge technology, called PROTECHT. Sports and Wellbeing Analytics (SWA), has since fine tuned the OPRO +, allowing it to record and and share real time data it receives on head imapacts.
Preventing More Than Just Mouth Injuries
Now with the data that is sent to medical staff during sporting events from the Opro + mouth guard, it will help health professionals make informed decisions in real time, when a player has suffered a concussion. Effectively protecting the modern athlete from both mouth injuries and from undiagnosed concussions.
