Do mouth guards go on top or bottom?

“SHOULD I BUY AN UPPER OR LOWER MOUTH GUARD?”

Sport mouth guards can be made for either the upper or the lower teeth. Many athletes wish to know "What is the difference between an upper or lower mouth guard?" and "Which way does a mouth guard go?". Another common question is "What type of guard should I use and how do I choose it?". 

If you're looking to learn about Night Guards, please click here to read our "Best Night Guards" Article.

What mouthguard is best for you?

Mouth guards are there to prevent your teeth from knocking into each other, and also to prevent you from biting into your tongue. Usually, you only need one layer. To find what guard is best for you, close your mouth and slowly bring your teeth closer together. For most people, their natural position is that the top front teeth will slightly overlap much of the front bottom teeth. This overlap reduces the risk of bottom teeth damage but increases risk of damage to the top teeth. Since the TOP teeth are the most susceptible to damage or being knocked out or loosened, they demand a mouth guard's protection.

Best Night Guard

Introducing the RiseGuard™, the world’s first at home, impression-less, professional night guard. At Nxtrnd, we know that nothing is more energy draining than waking up with jaw pain, a headache, and sensitive teeth.

Best Mouthguards for Lacrosse - Basketball - Hockey

Since athletes in football, lacrosse and ice hockey, get facial protection in the form of facemasks, cages or full shields attached to their helmets, they do not need to wear bulky mouth guards. In fact, many prefer wearing mouth guards with a thin frontal profil and added material under the molars. The added material under the molars acts as a shock absorber by dispersing the impact energy before it is transmitted to the jaw and teeth,  protecting the mouth from serious injury.

Because high material thickness inhibits your ability to speak clearly, athletes participating in team sports prefer a thinner frontal profil mouth guard delivering more comfort with better breathing and communication.

We recommend the Nxtrnd Classic or Nxtrnd ZERO

Best Mouthguards for Boxing - Wrestling - Mixed Martial Arts

In boxing, wrestling and mixed martial arts, frontal protection is very important. Despite the use of headgear, additional protection such as mouth guards are required to protect against upper and lower jaw collisions. For optimal protection, we recommend a mouth guard that features added frontal protection to further absorb direct impact to the mouth.

We recommend the Nxtrnd Rush and Nxtrnd Classic

How Mouthguards works?

Mouth guards were originally developed as a means of dental protection for boxers. Since injuries like lip lacerations and broken teeth were a common and disabling aspect of the sport in that era, mouth guards rapidly became a stapple in boxing equipment.

By putting a protective layer on your top teeth, front and back, in most cases the bottom teeth will be protected from any incoming shock.  Unless, the impact you receive is extremely intense and enough to take out your entire mouth.  This intensity of impact will undoubtedly cause much bigger problems.

A NXTRND™ mouthguard works as a shock absorber when impact is made to the mouth, jaw or head area by dissipating the impact forces and increasing the separation between the upper and lower teeth.

How to get the proper fit and protection from your mouthguard?

Getting the proper fit is very important. For a mouth guard to be effective and also provide comfort while preventing tooth damage, a well designed and properly molded mouth guard is crucial.  A Nxtrnd mouth guard molds precisely to your teeth and acts as a cushioned barrier between the upper and lower teeth, so that while your jaw may still in fact be going through the motions of chewing and grinding, the teeth are not making contact with each other, which prevents further damage to them.

What are mouth guards made off?

Mouth guards are most often made from materials such as acrylic, rubber, acetate or vinyl. Before purchasing a sport guard, you should always make sure it is BPA, Latex and Phthalate Free. When wearing a mouth guard, the athlete should never experience slipping or moving of the guard. The best models are comfortable and mold themselves to your teeth. 

Nxtrnd Sport Mouthguards make sure that their products are made from BPA, Silicon, Latex and Phtalate FREE materials. 

Our mouth guards use EVA (copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate). This material does not contain any chemicals listed under the U.S Priority Pollutant and Hazardous Substance List.  All our mouth guards are tested to be safe for use in the mouth on a daily basis and will not irritate the mouth's soft tissue.