Mouth Guard

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in Chicago, IL

Stock, or Ready-Made: This over-the-counter night guard is the most economical option, but rarely recommended by dentists. Since these mouth guards are bought pre-formed, they are often ill-fitting and bulky and can make talking and breathing more difficult.

Mouth adapted, or “Boil and Bite”: While still not ideal as a long term solution as it can sometimes cause changes in the bite, this type of mouth guard is a step above the preformed ones – here you heat the guard to soften it, then bite into the guard to adapt the shape to your mouth. Here’s what we’ve found before when searching for over the counter night guard options:

• Dentek Professional
• Oral B Dental Guard

A mouth guard – also called night guard, occlusal guard, occlusal splint, bite guard, mouthpiece, etc. – is a protective device that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and/or reduce injury. It is popularly believed that mouth guards were originally conceived for use in boxing. The original guards were little more than small pieces of cotton, tape, sponge or wood that boxers would clench between their teeth.

Since this solution was impractical and distracting to the boxers, dentists, specifically Woolf Krause of Britain, began to manufacture mouthpieces from strips of gutta-percha (a natural rubber resin) around 1892. His son Philip is often credited with making the first reusable mouthpieces early in the 20th century, though other claims to this advancement exist. 1947 saw the next major breakthrough when the acrylic resin was first used to make a mouth guard that was thinner and more functional than its predecessors. Over the next half century, use of mouth guards spread rapidly from boxing to most contact and non-contact sports.