Mouthguards

Mouthguards

Mouthguards are dental appliances that cover your teeth. Dentists recommend them for a number of reasons and there are many different types. Children and adults alike can benefit from mouthguards. Most mouthguards fit over your upper teeth. In some instances, your dentist may recommend a mouthguard for your lower teeth, as well.

3. Snoring and sleep apnoea mouthguards: People with chronic snoring or obstructive sleep apnoea may benefit from a custom mouth guard. This type of appliance shifts and repositions your jaw to open your airway during sleep.

Mouthguards may be store-bought or custom-made:

1. Store-bought:

Store-bought guards are cheaper, but are not as effective as custom-made mouth guards for protection against teeth grinding or sports-related injuries. They are also not appropriate for treating sleep apnoea. There are two main types of store-bought mouth guards.

Stock mouthguards are pre-formed and come ready to wear right out of the box. They are inexpensive and can generally be purchased in sports shops. However, little can be done to adjust their fit, they are bulky, can make breathing and talking difficult, and they provide limited protection. Dentists do not recommend their use.

Boil and bite mouthguards can also be bought over the counter at most sports shops and generally offer a better fit than stock mouthguards. The ‘boil and bite’ mouthguard is made from thermoplastic material. It is placed in hot water to soften, then placed in the mouth and shaped around the teeth using finger and tongue pressure. Dentists do not recommend their use in general as they tend to thin out in the very areas where protection is required and also be of a loose fit which causes them to be easily dislodged.

2. Custom-made:

Custom-made mouthguards are individually designed and made in a dental clinic or professional laboratory to fit your exact dental anatomy based on your dentists instructions. These mouthguards will not just offer the best protection against dental and oral injury but they should not affect performance i.e. breathing and speech should be relatively unaffected particularly if these have been worn regularly.

Firstly, your dentist will take an impression of your teeth and a mouthguard is then moulded over the model using a special material. Several layers of different plastics are laminated together so as to make a very impact absorbing mouthguard. Due to the use of the special material and because of the extra time and work involved, a custom-made mouthguard is more expensive than the other types, but it provides the most comfort and protection.

Custom-made mouth guards provide effective protection against bruxism and sports-related trauma. They’re also a common first line of defence in sleep apnoea treatment. You can wear them with or without a CPAP machine. They are the only type of mouthguard recommended by dentists.

Mouthguards are mandatory for players in all Gaelic football practice sessions and games. This rule has been mandatory for players in grades up to Minor since 2013 and applies to all age grades since January 1st 2014.