How To Clean A Mouthguard?

How do you sanitize a mouth guard?

Getting sick is the last thing you want mid season. If you don't clean your mouth guard regularly, you are at higher risk of getting ill. Since bacteria thrive best in warm, dark, moist environments, a mouth guard can quickly become the ultimate breeding ground.

Learn below how to clean a mouth guard and store it properly so it stays bacteria free.

Toothbrush

It is important to clean your mouth guard with a soft bristle tooth brush and non-abrasive toothpaste to prevent scratching. To achieve the best results, make sure you brush the entirety of the mouthguard and rinse all residue with warm water.

Soap and Water

After removing your guard, you can quickly rinse your mouth guard with anti-bacterial soap to mitigate germ build-up. You can also use mouth rinse to clean your mouthguard. As long as the ingredients are non-alcohol based. The mouthwash is a great anti-bacterial agent, however, it is important to note that mouthwash can stain your guard if it is made of a light colored material.

Mouthguard Cleaning Tablets

Cleaning tablets are an easy way to quickly sanitize your guard. Most cleaners are non-alcohol based and eliminate bacteria and stains within 30 seconds. For best results, we recommend you rinse your mouth guard after soaking them in the anti-bacterial cleaner to remove any residual soap.

Mouthguard Cleaning Devices

With prices ranging from 30 to 80 dollars, sanitizing devices are the most expensive methods for cleaning mouthguards. Depending on the model, they use ultraviolet light and ozone to cleanse, sanitize, deodorize and purify your mouth guard.

Storage

Bacteria thrive best in warm, dark, moist environments, like a mouthguard. When you're done practicing your sport, you should always clean, dry, and store your guard in a vented case made from anti-microbial material. By utilizing these habits, your guard will stay fresh for every game and prevent you from coming into contact with any bacterial born illnesses.

Can I sleep with a sports mouth guard?

Many people may be wondering: what's the difference between a sport mouth guard and a dental night guard? Can I use a sport mouth guard for teeth grinding and can I sleep with a mouthguard for sports?

We do not recommend using a sports mouth guard to sleep or help cure teeth grinding. This article will explain why.

Many of us have grown up seeing pro athletes wear mouth guards and have personally used them while playing sports to protect our teeth. If these mouth guards provide tooth protection, why not just buy a sports mouth guard to protect your teeth from bruxism?

Here are 3 important differences between athletic guards and night guards.

• 1) Teeth Coverage
• 2) Wear Time
• 3) The Material

1) TEETH COVERAGE

A sports mouth guard is designed to cover both teeth and gums, whereas a night guard is designed to cover the teeths biting surfaces only. Because gum tissue is easily susceptible to irritation and inflammation, having bacteria trapped against your gums over an extended period of time while you sleep will cause your gum health to deteriorate quickly.

If a full coverage mouth guard is worn throughout a nights sleep, the mouths natural cleansing system is hindered enormously. For optimal oral health, the mouth guard must be thin enough to not cover the gums and allow the saliva to flow naturally around the teeth cleansing the mouth and reducing bacteria growth. 

We recommend a mouthguard like the Nxtrnd Rise or featuring design attributes similar to the Rise Night Guard.

2) WEAR TIME

A sports mouth guard will most likely be worn for just an hour or two here and there during games, practice, workouts, etc. A night guard will be worn throughout your sleep, for approximately 8 consecutive hours 7 days a week.

Since your mouth is a warm, dark and moist environnement, a mouth guard can easily become a bacterial breeding ground. I wouldn’t want my gums stuck in this bacteria wildfire all night, and you shouldn’t either!

It's important you wear a night guard that covers your teeth enamel only, leaving your gum line free of unnecessary material.

3) THE MATERIAL

A night guard is meant to protect the teeth from clenching and grinding during sleep and it is fabricated using a material that is not as thick but strong enough to protect the users teeth enamel.

Read More:

- "Best teeth grinding mouthguards"

- "Best Mouthguards For Sports"