Influence of Preparing Condition of the Working Cast and Mouthguard Sheet on Thickness of Mouthguard

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the preparing condition of the working cast and mouthguard sheet on the thickness of mouthguard.
Methods: We used a mouthguard sheet (127 × 127 × 3.8 mm). The sheets were formed by a vacuum former when they were heated until they were hung 1.5 cm from baseline. The thickness of the mouthguard sheet was measured at the part fitted to anterior and posterior teeth. As the preparing conditions of the working cast, relations among the measurement point, setting position, and temperature of the working cast as well as among measurement point, setting position, and angle of the working cast were analyzed by Three-way ANOVA. As the condition of the mouthguard sheet, the relation between the measurement point and temperature of the sheet was analyzed by Two-way ANOVA.
Results: The thickness at anterior teeth became bigger at the condition that the working cast was set in the posterior position, and that of posterior teeth became bigger at the condition that the working cast was set in the center position. The thickness at anterior and posterior teeth became bigger at the condition that the angle of the working cast was set 80°. The thickness at anterior teeth became bigger when the temperature of the mouthguard sheet was high.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the thickness of the mouthguard could be maximized when the position of the part of the working cast that need to keep the thickness was set in the center, the angle of the working cast was set to 80°, and the temperature of the mouthguard sheet was high.