Abstract
Dentists can contribute to the safety of the players in various sports against sports injury through making protector in the oral and facial areas. We selected a mouth formed type of mouth guard adaptable for each individual and checked the comfort level in wearing it, in order to know what is important in producing a comfortable and effective mouth guard.
Twenty high school students who were members of rugby football clubs voluntarily took part in this investigation. A mouth guard was made by each player following the instructions and also another mouth guard was prepared by a dentist using the plaster model of the player. Comparison of the fitting of these mouth guards was conducted by measuring the thickness of the silicon rubber impression material placed between the model and the appliance. The subjects answered the questionnaires about the mouth guard after one month of use.
The fitting of the mouth guard made by the dentist was significantly better than that made by students. According to the questionnaire, the mouth guard made by a dentist was not necessarily accepted as a very good appliance when it did not have the impression of the lower teeth. On the contrary it resulted in a bad feeling when worn. They listed the following demands as conditions important to a good mouth guard. #1 Easy breathing #2 Fitting and #3 The prevention of cerebral concussion. To the question “Are you willing to use the mouth guard from now on?”, seventeen out of eighteen answered “Yes”, only one answered “I don't know”. This result indicates the latent demand for a mouth guard among contact sports players.
