3 Reasons Why Your Mouthguard Is Uncomfortable And How To Fix It

One of the biggest complaints you may have as an athlete is that your mouthguard is uncomfortable. But did you ever wonder why your mouthguard is uncomfortable?

Mouthguards may seem like any other boring piece of athletic equipment — no different than your thigh pads or shin guards — but they are actually one of the most important pieces of gear you wear. Not just from a protection standpoint, but in terms of performance as well.

Let’s take a look at why your mouthguard isn’t comfortable and how you may find a solution:

1. Too Bulky

If your mouthguard is too bulky, chances are you have the wrong mouthguard.

That could be for a number of reasons — from the material to the way the guard is engineered. But it could also mean that you simply have a mouthguard that’s not made for your specific sport or needs.

Proper protection starts with a minimum of 4 mm of material in the important impact zones — the areas in the front of the teeth and under the molars. However, these zones change from sport to sport; as a mouthguard that’s recommended for football may not be ideal for field hockey.

How to fix it: Make sure you have the proper mouthguard for your sport and that it adequately protects the important impact zones. For example, sports like football and ice hockey need protection against collisions between the upper and lower jaw mostly, because players wear facemasks; but for a sport like field hockey, more frontal protection is needed. Having too much material is just as bad as having too little.

2. Too Much Material

Those important impact zones aren’t the only areas of the mouth that require the right amount of material, as there are certain areas of your mouth — known as the free flow space — that are very important for comfort and speech. These include the roof of your mouth, the area behind your second molars and the area behind the back of your front teeth.

Material in the free flow space is unnecessary, as it doesn’t offer any protective value, and actually is harmful to your level of play. That’s because material in the free flow space causes discomfort and difficulty breathing and speaking. And that means difficulty playing your sport.

How to fix it: Examine the design of your mouthguard and make sure your free flow space is clear and unobstructed. When it comes to comfort, the cut of the mouthguard is one of the most important factors. 

3. Too Loose

If your mouthguard doesn’t fit correctly and floats around in your mouth, you definitely have the wrong mouthguard. And it’s likely a generically-made boil-and-bite or stock mouthguard.

Boil-and-bite mouthguards are made to fit everyone, not just you. But every mouth is different, and your mouthguard needs to fit the exact structure of your mouth in order for you to get the proper protection and comfort.

And it’s not just the way they’re designed. Because generic mouthguards are made for one size fits all, the way they are formed to fit is also inadequate. You are required to literally boil and bite into the mouthguard to get it to fit your mouth, but the pressure you generate from biting and sucking is only approximately 7-9 pounds per square inch. To obtain a tight, exact fit, custom mouthguards are produced at 120 pounds per square inch; a far cry from your mouth’s abilities.

How to fix it: Simple. You need to get the best fit you can, and that means you want a mouthguard that is made for your individual mouth structure. Like your fingerprints, your mouth is unique to you.

Whether it’s too bulky, has too much material or is too loose, an uncomfortable mouthguard is the wrong mouthguard. Only custom mouthguards give you the protection and comfort you need.

Get Comfortable

Author Bio

Bobbie Quinn, co-founder of Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, played both lacrosse and field hockey as a youth and went on to play Division 1 women’s lacrosse in college. Bobbie continues to play women’s league field hockey and enjoys watching her son play various sports.