MMA, Boxing & Muay Thai
Do you need a mouthguard for boxing, mma or Muay Thai?
One punch to the mouth and you'll be quick to notice that a trip to the dentist office usually involves substantial amounts of money. Even if you're sparring with padded gloves, all it takes is one misplaced punch to crack or knock a tooth loose and end a good session.
A mouth guard can be considered as cheap insurance against any kind of mouth related injury. At Nxtrnd, we believe mouth guards to be one of the most important pieces a safety equipment an athlete can purchase.
In fact, the price is negligible when compared to how much money a fighter could spend on extensive dental work, not to mention the wasted time involved with such work. A good MMA mouth guard is a must to protect your teeth, jaw and mouth area during training and combat sessions.
What mouthguard do boxers wear?
3 Best Boxing & MMA Mouthguards
Why do boxers wear mouthguards?
As a fighter, in order to reach top performance, your overall health should be prioritized first. To help you protect yourself and lengthen your career, we created an easy to follow guide to walk you through the different types of guards available and how to choose the best boxing mouthguard for your needs.
In general, mouthguards reduce the chances of sustaining concussions and are ideal for preventing tooth and jaw damage when sparring. A mouthguard acts as a cushion when impact is made to the mouth area by lessening and stopping the impact forces before they echo through the jaw towards the brain.
5 ways a mouthguard will protect you
1) Protects the Tongue and Cheeks (Soft Tissue)
Between the teeth and on the inside of the cheeks, a mouth is made up of a plethora of soft tissues. By wearing a mouth guard, any impact made to this area will be absorbed into the guard’s material before in it distributed to the soft tissues causing damage.
2) Reduce Impact between Upper and Lower Jaw
A well designed mouthguard will feature extra material in the mouths important impact zones. The added material will increase the cushion between the upper and lower jaw and reduce the chance of tooth fracture by absorbing and distributing the impact energy received from a hit or kick to the face through a wider area.
3) Protect Jaw Muscles
When sparring, the bones, muscles and tendons of the jaw are susceptible to injury. However, because wearing a mouthguard stimulates the jaws muscle and tendons, when receiving a kick or punch to the face the jaw will be sturdier reducing its movement in unnatural ways.
4) Protects the Head
Although the inconclusive studies and the lack of studies regarding mouth guards preventing concussions, common sense indicates that wearing a mouth guard certainly doesn't hurt. Because mouth guards mitigate the force of impact transferred from the teeth to the jaw and head, wearing a guard is always a better choice that not wearing a one.
5) Protects the Neck
By constantly clenching down on your mouthguard before receiving a hit, your neck muscles contract reducing head movement which protects ligament and nerve damage. In fact, as with the jaw and soft tissue, a hit or kick would normally send the impact force throughout the entire head and neck. Fortunately, a mouthguard stopes the force of a blow from traveling through the body.
Custom vs. Boil & Bite Mouthguards
There are multiple types of mouthguards on the market, typically separated into 3 categories: Stock, Boil-&-Bite and Custom.
In contact sports, because of their fit and style, the 2 most popular options are Boil-&-Bite and Custom guards. Designed to disperse energy more effectively than stock/Instant-fit guards, the material and customization of these guards also allows more protection to the teeth, jaw and neck. However, each type of mouthguard has its benefits and drawbacks which we will cover below.
Boil & Bite Mouthguards
At Nxtrnd, we make our "Boil-and-bite" mouthguards out of multiple layers of our signature thermoplastic material that softens when placed in hot water, molds to the teeth by using pressure and solidifies when placed in cool water.
This unique function allows the athlete to bite the mouthpiece when softened to conform it around the teeth and gums creating a custom mold.
Being top rated and best-selling on Amazon, our Rush, Zero and Classic models are by far some of the most popular types of mouthguards available and are featured in Amazon "Best Boxing Mouthguards" category.
In fact, these guards can sometimes require more skill in order to obtain the right fit, but if you follow our easy 10 step fitting process, you will end up with a mouthguard that provides the perfect fit and protection.
Pros
- Provides great protection if molded correctly.
- The fastest and easiest way to protect teeth.
- Most cost efficient type of mouthguards available.
- Come with unlimited warranty.
Cons
- Requires work to mold the mouthguard to your mouth.
- The resulting fit may not be as comfortable if not properly molded.
- Has the potential to loosen if you take a large hit to the head.
Custom Fit Mouthguards
Creating a custom mouthguard requires a lot of money and time. To get the perfect fit, you usually have to visit your dentists office multiple times and have a specialist take measurements and pictures of your teeth. From there, the data gathered from your teeth is sent to a laboratory where a technician prints a mouthguard to the shape of the teeth.
Pros
- You receive an exact fit that’s so tight you must remove it with your fingers; you can’t pull it off with your tongue.
- Provides a high level of comfort and fit.
- Offer a very good level of protection.
Cons
- Significantly more expensive than boil and bite mouthguards.
- It takes more time to receive since you must make a mold.
- Have to visit a dentist to have a mold made.
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May not stay in place in mouth.
To help you choose the right mouth guard, please visit our article entitled "7 Best Mouthguards Reviewed By Experts".
