mouthguards is a device that fits into the mouth over one or both arches of teeth to protect against injury while playing contact sports. For other uses, see Mouth (disambiguation). ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... A contact sport is a sport which includes significant physical contact between the athletes involved. ...

Mouthguards, also known as a mouthpieces or gumshields, are most commonly used in sports where injuries to the face are a major hazard, such as martial arts, rugby, wrestling, soccer, American football, Australian Rules football, lacrosse, basketball, hockey and boxing. Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Ancient Greek wrestlers (Pankratiasts) Wrestling is the act of physical engagement between two unarmed persons, in which each wrestler strives to get an advantage over or control of their opponent. ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... AFL has a number of references: Football leagues Australian Football League — professional competition in Australian Rules Football. ... The Dive Shot. Lacrosse is a team sport that is played with ten players (mens field), six players (mens box), or twelve players (womens field), each of whom uses a netted stick (the crosse) in order to pass and catch a hard rubber ball with the aim... This article is about the sport. ... Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into the opponents net or goal, using a hockey stick. ... For other senses of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer (disambiguation). ...

The most common variety is the "boil and bite" type, which is boiled, then placed in the user's mouth in order to mold to that person's teeth. There are also very inexpensive stock mouthguards which have almost no ability to adjust to the user's mouth, as well as custom-made types from a dentist's impression of the wearer's teeth.

In many cases their use is now compulsory by the rules of the sporting code^[1], by local state health laws. Schools also often have rules requiring their use^[2].

They may also serve a medical purpose such as splints used to treat temporomandibular joint disorder and bruxism. Also, a thin, acrylic mouthguard appliance is often used during tooth bleaching. Splints are an ailment of the horse, characterized by a hard, bony swelling, usually on the inside of a front leg, lying between the splint and cannon bone or on the splint bone itself. ... Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD, TMJ or TMD), or TMJ syndrome, is an umbrella term covering acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the lower jaw to the skull. ... Bruxism (from the Greek βρυγμός (brugmós), gnashing of teeth] is the grinding of the teeth, typically accompanied by the clenching of the jaw. ... The acryl group is one of the functional groups sorted in the chemical class of acryl where one of four hydrogen atoms in ethene is replaced with a different functional group. ... Tooth Whitener for Home Use (Brush for Application) Tooth bleaching, also known as tooth whitening, is a common procedure in general dentistry but most especially in the field of cosmetic dentistry. ...

Mouthguards or "gum shields" were originally developed in 1890 by Woolf Krause, a London dentist, as a means of protecting boxers from lip lacerations. Dr. A. W. S. Wood, a Canadian paediatric dentist, worked to improve the design as a way to better prevent injuries to children's teeth in hockey games. ^[3] Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. ...

References

External links

• Good description of the types available
• "An evaluation of mouthguard requirements and dental injuries in New Zealand rugby union", British Journal of Sports Medicine 2005;39:650-651
• "Do mouthguards prevent concussion?", British Journal of Sports Medicine 2001; 35:81-82