Preliminary Investigation of a Novel Mouthguard

Mouthguards (MGs) remain an important piece of personal protection for athletes for the prevention of injury. Although MGs provide tremendous benefts, the design and fabrication process does not record the position of the mandible or the occlusion, which could lead to injury. This study compared a novel MG to over‑the‑counter (OTC) and custom MGs on a skull model.
The OTC MG was formed as per manufacturer’s guidelines, the custom MG was laboratory fabricated, and the novel MG was fabricated through a proprietary process. Each group of the three MGs was assessed for vertical dimension change, occlusal contacts, and condylar displacement.
Average number of occlusal contacts for the OTC, custom and novel MG were 2.4, 4.0, and 10, respectively. There was a signifcant difference between all values (P The novel MG was signifcantly different (P