Dental Use of Mouthguards

Featuring Dr. Jeffrey Norden, DDS

Duration: 1 minute, 6 seconds

Sports mouthguards come in three basic varieties.

The first one is called a Type 1, which is the one that you go and get at your sports store. They are stock, they don't fit your teeth, you wear them over your teeth, they don't fit very well. These aren't very good, although they're very cheap.

The second type of mouthguard we call a Type 2 or the typical boil and bites. You also get this from your sports equipment store, typically you would take those, put them in a pot of boiling water. Put them in your mouth and suck on them to try and form them around your teeth.

The most important thing to know about either of these first two types of sports guards is that they're essentially ineffective. In most of the studies we've seen these type of sports guards work only slightly better than no mouthguard at all, which brings me to the third type and the most important and the only type that really works well is a custom fitted sports mouthguard.

We call them a Type 3, these guards are made out of EVA material, which is an ethylene vinyl acetate. The main thing about these type of sports guard is there made off of an impression of your teeth which is poured in a stone model.

We then laminate two or three layers of this EVA material onto the model to deliver you a custom fitted, formed mouthguard, with at least three millimeters of the EVA material to protect the most vulnerable areas.

The main advantages of the custom fitted mouthguard is that number one, it's going to give you the best ability to breathe doing your sports activity. Number two, it's also going to allow you the best ability to speak during your sports activity. And number three it's going to offer you the best comfort level.

If you're interested in a custom fitted sports mouthguard, please contact your dentist.

Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey Norden, General Dentist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: General Dentist