What Mouthguards Do Football Players Wear?

Football Mouthguards

Having the right protective gear is crucial for athletes of any sport. In American football, whether blocking or tackling to protect your quarterback or to move the ball, you need to keep your mouth safe at all times and reduce your chances of suffering from any major dental traumas.

How Mouthguards Work?

A well designed mouth guard is supposed to absorb and disperse impact to your mouth and head. Without a mouthguard, there is nothing to mitigate the force of  impact which can lead to severe injuries of your teeth, mouth, and jaw.

How To Choose A Mouthguard?

To effectively protect your mouth, it is important you take into account your role on the field before choosing your guard.

If your position on the football field demands vocalizing certain positions and plays, you will want to invest into a slim mouth guard offering a tight fit so you can speak, breath and drink with ease.

If your role demands less speaking and more all around protection, we recommend investing in a lip guard. These mouthguards feature a shell that covers the outside of your mouth as well as inner bite pads that serve the same purpose as a regular mouthguard. However, since your lips will be covered, these mouth guards reduce your ability to speak.

If you have braces, a specially designed mouthguard is necessary. In order to prevent lacerations to your lips caused by brace brackets, it is important you choose a mouthguard that adapts to the braces and provides comfort. Such mouthguards are designed of soft and flexible silicon material that wrap around the athletes individual mouth structure. The braces mouthguards will also feature a inner channel made to receive the brace brackets and provide you with more comfort.

Should You Strap Your Mouthguard?

Depending on your preferences and the leagues rules, having a removable mouth guard strap that attaches to your facemask comes with its own pros and cons. If you are a player that often misplaces his/her equipment, a strapped mouth guard would be great for you.

However, one negative aspect to having a strapped mouthguard is that it may encourage you to carry your helmet by the tether. This habit will rapidly wear down the strap and cause the attachment mecanism on the mouthguard to either eventually break off or simply not function properly. As a result, the mouthguard could be lost.

Another pro would be our recommendation of convertible mouthguards that come with detachable straps, offering you the option and flexability of interchanging the tether between games to match uniforms and your style preferences.