Custom Mouth Guards For Sports

A mouth guard is a piece of material that fits in your mouth to act as a cushion to prevent injuries to your lips, teeth, and gums. In instances when a patient regularly takes part in physical activity or grinds or clenches their teeth, it is crucial to wear a mouth guard as it creates a barrier between your teeth and any object or force. Mouth guards also help prevent injuries to your jaw, chips or cracks to your teeth, and even tooth loss.


When selecting a mouth guard, is it best to understand why store-bought versions are not recommended, and custom mouth guards are the better choice. First, there are boil and bite mouth guards that are usually purchased in pharmacies and sports stores. This type of guard can be molded at home using boiling water, which helps soften the material, and then placed in your mouth to help form the plastic to your teeth. This is a less expensive mouth guard; however, it will not supply you with the best fit, comfort, or protection.


A stock mouth guard is also sold in a sports store and comes pre-formed into a U-shape that “fits most”. This form of mouth guard provides the least amount of protection and comfort, and is held in by biting down. This could result in extensive injury to your lips, teeth, or jaw, as it is able to move around. Because these types of mouth guards take the approach of “one size fits all”. There is also the chance that stock mouth guards could interfere with swallowing and breathing, which is why they are not recommended.

Store-Bought vs Custom-Fit Mouth Guards

There are a variety of options available to patients who are looking to protect their teeth during sleep or physical activity. However, patients are left wondering what the difference is between store-bought and custom fit mouth guards. Although store-bought mouth guards come ready to use, they may not fit every patient the same due to the different sizes and shapes of our mouths. Wearing an improperly fitted mouth guard could potentially cause more harm than not wearing one at all as the store-bought mouth guards are made from soft plastic, which is thin and flexes easily with an impact. When mouth guards do not fit well, athletes are often seen using them to chew on, rather that for protection.

Thin plastic also prevents mouth guards from staying in the same shape over time. Typically, these store-bought mouth guards need to be replaced every 90-days or after 40 uses. Custom-fit mouth guards are made by a dental professional through impressions and measurements to ensure accuracy. Preventive Dental Hygiene Care uses Pro-Form brand thermoplastic which is far more durable than store-bought plastic. Since they are custom-fit pieces, they will mold to the teeth much more comfortably. Pro-Form mouth guards also last 3-4-times longer than the store-bought kind.

Sports Guards

If you take part in any contact sport or physical activity, you should always wear a sports guard to prevent injury to your face, teeth, and jaws. Oral injuries can occur at any age and as a result, it is crucial to stay protected when involved in contact sports.


Usually, I recommend acquiring a sport guard if you play contact sports such as football, rugby, hockey, or basketball, however, other sports such as baseball, cricket, skate-park activities, wrestling, and soccer, have also recommended sports guard use, to reduce the potential from injuries to the face and mouth.


Sports mouth guards are beneficial because they help protect your teeth, gums, and surrounding tissues from any trauma that could occur during these activities. They can also help absorb the pressure that could occur from a forceful impact to the chin or face.



When acquiring a sports guard, be sure that the material is comfortable secure, does not fall down when the mouth is open, allows for normal breathing, provides full protection (covers the teeth high up into the lip), and does not have an odour.

Share by: