Correcting Initial Mouthguard Fit or Comfort Issues, Part 1

For athletes or those taking part in a variety of sports or activities that require or suggest mouthguard use, comfort is an obvious priority. No one wants to spend an entire game or training session wearing a mouthguard that’s uncomfortable, and this kind of discomfort also often signals issues with the protective qualities of a given mouthguard.

At Damage Control Mouthguards, we’re proud to offer a variety of mouthguard variations for your varying needs, from custom mouthpiece options to various specified sport choices like basketball mouthguards, football mouthguards or several others. Our mouthguard pros know just how comfort and protective qualities within a mouthguard intersect, and we’ll ensure your new mouthguard checks both boxes entirely. With that in mind, this two-part blog will go over one of the most important periods with any mouthguard: The “breaking in” phase, plus a few of the potential fit or comfort issues you may run into and what you can do about them.

Mouthguard Too Tight

In some cases, you may fit a new mouthguard and find that it’s too tight for your mouth. Luckily, this is one of the easier issues to fix, both in the case of custom mouthguards and other options like boil-and-bite models.

For custom mouthguards, pressure and heat are used for the initial fitting – and the same themes should be used for correcting a tight mouthguard, both for these or boil-and-bite options. Simply heat a pot of water to boiling point, pour water into a bowl then hold the section of the mouth guard by submerging just the "hot spot" into the water.  See video below.  Hold this position for about 20 seconds, then immediately place the mouthguard back in your mouth and keep it there until it cools or take a sip of cold water. 

Mouthguard Too Loose

When it comes to mouthguards that are too loose, things separate a bit. Boil-and-bite mouthguards are easy enough here, as all you have to do is simply repeat the boil and bite process to get the fit you are after.  For our Extreme Impact Mouthguards, if you are not getting the fit you are after, redo the boil and bite process. 

For custom mouthguards, on the other hand, you may want to contact us to resolve the issue.  Our custom mouth guards should not fit loose at all if they do we will take every step needed to correct the issue. 

For more on handling minor fit or comfort issues while breaking in a new mouthguard, or to learn about any of our custom sport mouthguard products, speak to the staff at Damage Control Mouthguards today.