The Best Protective Mouthguards For Boxing & MMA
One key piece of essential equipment for any striking martial arts is a mouthguard. In terms of protecting your teeth, there is nothing more you can do than wear a mouthguard.
Teeth are not like bones and will not heal over time. Once they are chipped, broken, or knocked out, this is the end of the line. Simply from a cost point of view, it makes sense to wear a mouthguard when boxing. The cost of having dental implants in the future far exceeds the cost of a sub $30 mouthpiece which is going to save you a lot of pain and suffering at the very least.
Every boxing gym will have a policy in place that will not allow you to train and spar without a mouth guard. This makes sense as the owners do not want people’s teeth flying around the gym and would like to protect their members as much as possible.
Types Of Mouthguard
Quickfit or Snapfit
Not the best choice for any striking martial art. A quick fit or snap-fitting mouthpiece is a one size fits all mouthguard. The benefits are that it is quick and easy to use, whereas the negatives are that it could well be a very poor fit for your teeth.
These mouthguards are best for grappling martial arts, or sports where you are not going to get hit in the face. Any kind of combat sport such as boxing, taekwondo, or muay thai should not be practiced with a very cheap fitting mouthguard. The level of protection offered is simply not sufficient for being hit in the teeth.
Boil & Bite
The best choice for anyone who takes boxing a bit more seriously and is sparring semi-regularly. Boil and bite mouthguards are not expensive ($25~) and give you a good amount of protection.
In terms of how they work, it’s exactly as the name says. Firstly you take the mouthguard straight out of the package into water and boil it until it is soft. After the water has been drained, you simply put the mouthpiece into your mouth, bite down and press it to make a tight fit against your teeth.
This will not make the mouthguard have an absolutely perfect fit, but it will be good enough to protect your teeth against the most powerful strikes.
Dental Custom Fit (Pro)
Thanks to the internet, the price of custom fit mouthguards has dropped due to the fact that you no longer need to visit a dentist. You still can get a professional mouthguard by going to a dentist and getting impressions of your teeth, but this will be more expensive and no more accurate.
Most companies making custom fit mouthguards will send you a kit in the mail. By biting down on the impression pieces and sending them back to the company, they will have an accurate overview of your mouth shape. After this has been uploaded to whatever dental software they use, a machine can now create a custom mouthguard that fits the exact shape of your teeth.
The only downside of this mouthguard is both the time and cost. A boil and bite mouthguard can be used the same day that you set it. In comparison, a custom fit mouthguard may take weeks to be made and sent to you after the initial setting.
Not only this, but a custom fit mouthguard is much more expensive, ranging from $100-$200. However, with that being said, if you are a semi-pro or professional boxer, this money is well worth spending.
How Long Do Mouthguards Last?
If you’re wearing a mouthguard regularly (training 2-4 times per week), you should expect it to last a little over 2 years. The mouthguard will still certainly be wearable after 2 years but will begin to become worn from biting, saliva, and general wear. This will cause the mouthguard to break down and become less structurally stable – reducing its ability to protect your teeth.
It’s for this reason that you should generally replace a mouthpiece once you notice it starting to deteriorate. As this only happens every few years and mouthguards are very cheap, it is definitely a sound investment.
Using Mouthguards With Braces
Unfortunately, if you have braces then you should probably not be doing any kind of striking combat sports. This is because there is no mouth guard which will protect your teeth and gums from the impact of a strike. The metal from the braces can cause quite severe cuts to the inside of the mouth if you are hit with a wayward fist and cause a trip to the emergency room.
Not only this, dental braces are always slowly changing the structure of your teeth. This is what they are intended to do. So when a mouthguard is fit for the first time, your teeth will likely be in a completely different position 4-5 months later – at which the mouthguard would be almost useless in protecting you.
Some brands do offer braces mouthguards, however, unless completely necessary, it is best not to box or strike until your teeth are fully set the way they should be.
The Best Mouthguards For Boxing & MMA
Safejawz
Available in a variety of different colors, Safejawz offers a series of eye-catching and well-designed mouthguards. Suitable for all combat and striking sports, there are several selling points for the well-established mouthpiece brand.
Firstly is the price. For a boil and bite mouthguard, the price is pretty average. However, this disregards the fact that Safejawz are extremely well designed and has pretty much thought of everything you will need when it comes to a mouthguard.
As you will notice, there is extra protection on the molar areas of the mouthpiece. This helps to keep your teeth safe, as well as being a shock absorber to make sure you are less likely to get knocked out. Safejawz use remodel tech which ensures that you can reset the mouthguard once again even if you make a mistake. This is an excellent feature to have since many boil and bite mouthguards are set as soon as you finish with no respite for mistakes.
Check The Price Of The Safejawz Mouthguard On Amazon
Venum Predator
If you’ve ever watched a UFC event, you will have noticed that there are a lot of Venum products being used. Although this is an advertising agreement between the two brands, Venum products are clearly suited for MMA.
The Predator mouthguard offers maximum protection and shock absorption against powerful strikes. Instead of opting for a classicly flat surface, Venum instead have chosen to use a ridged and reinforced bottom side which spreads impact. This will offer great protection for your teeth and a little more protection for your jaw in terms of not getting knocked out.
Furthermore, the price is really not too bad considering Venum is one of the best brands for MMA equipment. The instructions are also extremely clear and concise, leaving no room for error when first molding.
Check The Price Of Venum Predator Mouthguards On Amazon
Shock Doctor
A very well constructed and designed mouthguard. Shock Doctor offers something a little different and are particularly useful for people who do not like the taste of regular plastic mouthguards. Shock Doctor understood this, so have made a flavored mouthpiece – which may not be to everyone’s taste, but good for those who can’t stand the taste of rubber.
The Shock Doctor mouthpiece has 3 layers of protection for each tooth, ensuring that you will not need a trip to the dentist after taking a big hit. Much like most of the other boil and bite mouthpieces, this has a gelled inner liner to protect your gums from being irritated.
Check The Price Of Shock Doctor Mouthguards On Amazon
Sisu
Perhaps the best designed mouthguard there is. Sisu mouthpieces are certainly not the most attractive or fancy to look at, but in terms of pure usefulness and effectiveness, they are #1.
As you can see, Sisu mouthguards have a number of small holes in them. This may not seem like an effective way of drawing in oxygen, but anyone who has done hard sparring in hot weather will know that mouthguards can sometimes make it extremely difficult to breathe when you really need it the most.
The shape and thickness of a Sisu mouthguard has also been well thought out. Different thicknesses are used for different sports (with of course boxing and MMA being the thickest). The shape of the mouthguard ensures that the shock is distributed around the jaw, rather than going through a single area of teeth.
Check The Price Of Sisu Mouthguards On Amazon
OPRO
More expensive than every other boil and bite mouthguard. OPRO are a little different in that they are literally willing to put their money where their mouth is. When you buy a mouthguard from OPRO you are entitled to up to $20000 in dental cover. This “gift” from the company shows that they have supreme confidence in their mouthpieces and are sure that your teeth will remain intact whilst taking the heaviest of hits.
The OPRO mouthguard is designed so that it will not leave your mouth involuntarily and is stuck around your teeth. Whilst they are certainly not the cheapest mouthguard and are really one of the most expensive brands. All in all, if you are a serious athlete who wants to protect your teeth, OPRO is well worth the money.
