Essential Types Of Mouthguards And The One You Should Opt For

Mouthguards, as their name suggests, are designed to protect your jaw, teeth, and gums from external damage or injuries. Also known as mouth protectors, they also prevent your teeth from inflicting self-damage caused by habitual grinding or clenching while asleep. However, these protective guards are designed to serve a specific purpose, so there are different types of mouthguards for you to choose from. It is imperative that you choose the right type of guard for your needs. 

Before we discuss the applications and uses of different mouthguards, let’s look at the three essential types of mouthguards that are extensively used today:

Stock Mouthguards:

Stock mouthguards are the ready-made products that are readily available at any sports outlet or drug stores in large, medium, and small sizes. 

They are made of Ethylene-vinyl acetate or EVA and are used to cover the top teeth and jaw. Though they are the most inexpensive and quick option to use, their lack of variety in sizes may make it difficult to find your perfect fit sometimes.

Boil-And-Bite Mouthguards:

These thermoplastic mouthguards are designed to remain hard at room temperature and soften up when heated. To use them, you have to boil them for some time until they feel soft, then press them over your top teeth and bite down. 

They are also easily available at drug stores, and since they reshape over your teeth, they give you a better fit. 

Custom Mouthguards:

You can ask a dentist in Wakad to design a customized mouthguard to fit your dental structure. Here, they will imprint your teeth over a mould or map your teeth using scanning technology, and use it to create a mouthguard of its shape.

It provides a precise fit over your top and bottom teeth and rarely dislocates accidentally. However, they are more expensive than the other less customizable types. 

All of these mouthguards essentially serve the same purpose, but do so in different ways to benefit only specific activities. Let’s discuss the general categories of people who need mouthguards based on their health and lifestyle:

For People Playing Sports:

In many physical contact sports such as boxing, wrestling, football, basketball, or racing sports like cycling, wearing mouthguards is often mandatory. 

Even when training for these sports, there’s a high risk of colliding or falling on the face, which can damage the teeth, lips, or tongue. 

To prevent these injuries, a stock mouthguard or a boil-and-bite mouthguard is a good choice, as they are quickly usable and disposable, and most importantly, inexpensive. 

For People With Sleeping Problems:

Bruxism is a movement disorder that causes one to grind their teeth in sleep, causing toothaches, jaw pain, and sore gums. 

Sleep apnea is another disorder that causes a person to temporarily stop breathing while asleep, leading to loud snoring. 

Both these conditions can be dealt with using getting a custom-made mouthguard from an orthodontist that slightly pulls the lower jaw out, and wearing it to sleep every night.

For People With Braces:

Braces do have sufficient sturdiness, but can still get damaged or disoriented with external impact. Especially for kids and adults who play sports regularly, covering these braces with an appropriate mouthguard is immensely helpful. 

Based on the type of braces you get, our orthodontist in Wakad will guide in choosing the right type of mouthguard for your teeth, which will mostly include the custom fitting options.

At our City Dental Clinic in Wakad, we provide a wide range of orthodontic treatments and mouthguard design options for kids and adults of all ages. You can visit the City Dental Care website to reach out to our dental experts to get the most comfortable and affordable mouthguard designed at our advanced dental clinic in Pune.