How the hell can mouth guards be so effective against otherwise serious dental issues, especially in boxing?
In: Biology
They do a few things to protect you
First, they cushion the blow. It’s not quite how hard you get hit that hurts you (especially when talking about brain injuries) but how quickly your head accelerates/decelerates. Think of it this way: if you’re driving 50mph and gently apply the brakes to come to a stop over 60 seconds, the car loses just as much kinetic energy as if you hit a brick wall and stop instantly, but obviously one way of stopping is way more dangerous than the other. The squishy mouthguard acts as “brakes” for your jaw.
They also spread out the force. Without a mouthguard in, your teeth come together at fairly small points, which dramatically increases the pressure applied at those points. Imagine a 5-pound weight just resting in your hand – no big deal, right? Then imagine that 5-pound weight on the end of a sharpened pencil, pressing down into your hand – same amount of force, but way more damaging to your hand. The mouthguard spreads out the impact so that it acts more like the weight just sitting in your hand.
Third, they help keep your jaw mostly closed and better aligned. With a mouthguard in, you’re likely to have your jaw clenched at least a bit. Getting hit with your jaw open is way worse than getting hit with it closed, and the clenching of your muscles helps stabilize the joint.
Mouth guards are effective in sports like boxing because they act like a cushion for your teeth and gums. When a boxer gets hit in the face, the mouth guard absorbs and spreads out the force of the punch over a larger area. This helps to prevent injuries like broken teeth, cuts inside the mouth, or jaw injuries. Think of it like a bumper on a car that helps protect it by softening the blow during an accident. So, when a boxer wears a mouth guard, it’s like having a protective shield that keeps their teeth and mouth safer from hard hits.
They also cover your teeth, so when you get hit in the mouth, the teeth do not cut the inside of mouth.
I actually make custom mouthguards for different sports. If the lower teeth get smashed into the upper teeth it can cause concussion. We also change the design and materials depending on the sport, so for boxing/mma we use 3 soft layers with extra protection around the anterior teeth. For stick sports that use sticks, hard balls or metal studs on boots we use 2 soft layers and 1 hard layer over the labial section canine to canine. This helps to stop teeth being knocked out. For other lower contact sports 2 soft layers is generally enough. We also should include a radiopaque insert as apparently at least a couple of mouthguards get swallowed every year and without the insert it’s very difficult to find them on an x-ray.
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