Custom Sports Mouthguards & Dental Protection – Individually Fitted by an Orthodontist in Cologne

A sports mouthguard protects teeth during sports from injury.1 Sudden impacts or blows to the mouth can lead to tooth fractures, displacement, or tooth loss. A custom-fitted mouthguard reduces this risk, with good wearing comfort and barely impaired breathing. There is no reliable evidence for protection against concussions, however – this benefit is often attributed to mouthguards, but the research does not support it. We customize your sports mouthguard using digital diagnostics.

The main purpose is protection against injury. There are, however, indications that a well-fitting mouthguard can improve breathing and relieve the chewing muscles, which benefits endurance and performance. Avoiding injuries caused by misaligned teeth or jaws can also help performance. The research is not yet conclusive, but a benefit is possible.

Anyone who wears fixed braces and plays sports needs special protection: in the event of a blow or a fall, the brackets can injure the lips and cheeks. A prefabricated mouthguard from a sporting goods store usually does not fit properly over braces and therefore offers only limited protection.

As orthodontists in Cologne, we make your mouthguard for braces individually – with enough room for the brackets and a precise fit. Especially for boxing, martial arts or hockey with braces , a custom-fitted mouthguard like this is essential. You can read more about this in our article Braces and Sports.

Care. Rinse with cold water after each use and let air-dry – hot water warps the material. Store the guard in its ventilated case, not loose in a gym bag and not in the car. Bring it to checkup appointments so we can examine the fit and condition.

Durability. Replace the guard when it develops cracks, warps, or no longer stays in place on its own. For children and adolescents, this happens sooner than for adults, because the jaw is growing and teeth are erupting. During ongoing treatment with fixed braces, tooth position changes continuously – how often adjustment is needed then depends on the treatment stage and is discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Cost. A custom-fabricated sports mouthguard is a private service; statutory health insurance does not cover it, though some insurers provide a subsidy upon request. What your guard costs depends on design and effort – you will receive the amount in writing before fabrication, not only with the invoice.

Required or strongly recommended

Boxing, kickboxing, MMA, karate, taekwondo, judo and wrestling – plus ice hockey, field hockey, rugby, American football and lacrosse. In these sports either a blow hits the jaw directly, or sticks, pucks and balls reach speeds at which a front tooth has no chance.

Clearly recommended

Handball, basketball, water polo and soccer – especially in goal – as well as horseback riding, skating and inline skating, BMX and mountain biking, plus skiing and snowboarding. An opponent’s elbow or a fall to the ground happens less often than a deliberate blow, but it does the same damage.

Always with fixed braces

Anyone wearing brackets should wear a mouthguard for every sport involving body contact. A blow to the lip presses the soft tissue into the appliance and leads to deep cuts that would not have occurred without braces. A custom-made mouthguard is built over the brackets and leaves room for them – models from the sporting goods store cannot do that.

This mainly affects teenagers in club sports. How treatment works in this age group is explained on our page about orthodontics for children and teenagers in Cologne.

Why off-the-shelf isn’t enough

A do-it-yourself mouthguard stays in place only as long as you bite down on it. When you speak, breathe or exert yourself, it works loose – and a guard that slips no longer protects. Our sports mouthguards are made from a digital scan in our own in-house master dental laboratory in the same building, stay in place without biting down, and allow free breathing and speaking.