The American Dental Association recommends mouthguards for the following sports:

Why Custom Fabricated Sports Mouthguards?

According to the American Dental Association, more than 200,000 oral injuries are prevented annually in this country by sports mouthguards. While this is an impressive preventative figure, it is unfortunately estimated by the National Youth Sports Foundation that more than 5 million teeth will be knocked out in sporting activities this year. These oral traumas will happen to children, high school and college level athletes. In fact, dental injuries are the most common type of orofacial injury sustained during participation in sports.

PLAYSAFE'S Tri-Lamination: 3 Times The Protection


Lamination 1

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Finished PLAYSAFE

The benefits of sports mouthguard protection has been well documented. In 1995 Dr. Raymond Flander's study on the high incidence of oral injuries showed that in football, where mouthguards are mandatory, only .07% of all injuries involved teeth and the oral cavity. Conversely, in basketball where mouthguards are not worn, 34% of all injuries to players involved teeth and/or the oral cavity! Obviously dental injuries could also be significantly reduced if children, teenagers and adults involved in the following sports wore custom fabricated mouthguards: soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, rollerblading, skateboarding, martial arts, boxing, hockey, kickboxing and mountain biking.

According to Dr. Ray Padilla, an active member in the Academy for Sports Dentistry, the lifetime dental rehabilitation costs can approach several thousand dollars per tooth, for the child or athlete who looses a tooth (or teeth) in a sporting injury (4). This does not include the associated costs of hours in the dental office and the possible development of secondary problems such as periodontal disease. The total rehabilitation costs for a single knocked-out tooth are more than 20 times the preventative cost for a custom laminated, professional grade mouthguard.

This could have been prevented!

This serious trauma was caused by an elbow blow. It could have been avoided if the basketball player had been wearing a mouthguard.

Sports Mouthguards Are Not All Created Equal!

Comparing dentist fabricated, custom sports mouthguards with stock or boil and bite type mouthguards, typically found in sporting goods stores, reveals significant differences. Boil and bite type mouthguards do not fit as accurately as custom fabricated types so they often are uncomfortable and frequently interfere with the athletes breathing and speaking ability. At the First International Symposium on Dental Biomaterials in August of 1993, Dr. J. Park, Ph.D. reported that boil & bite mouthguards provide a false sense of protection due to the dramatic decrease in thickness when the athlete bites it into place during its softened state. Dr. Park further stated that unless dramatic improvements are made, they (boil and bite mouthguards) should not be promoted by dentists to their sporting patients.

A Custom Fit Ensures Protection

For your children's protection, we offer PLAYSAFE® Custom Fabricated Sports Mouthguards. Invented in 1982, PLAYSAFE® has become the top choice in custom fabricated mouthguards for athletes in Europe, Australia, and the United States.

5 Types of PLAYSAFE® Mouthguards Available:

Junior: 1 layer of EVA material with added incisal and occlusal protection and a thickness of 3mm. Designed specifically for children with mixed dentition. (Only available in yellow, red, blue, green, black or ivory).

Light: 2 layers of laminated EVA material with a thickness of 3 mm. Designed for wrestling, volleyball, mountain biking, and motocross. (Only available in bright yellow, bright red, light blue or green).

Medium: 2 layers of laminated EVA material with a thickness of 5mm. Specially fabricated for soccer, rugby, basketball, softball, rollerblading, skating and skateboarding.

Heavy: 2 layers of laminated EVA material with 3 unique power dispersion bands and a 5mm thickness. Specially designed for baseball, football, racquetball, martial arts & boxing.

Heavy Pro: 3 layers of laminated EVA material (one hardened layer) with a thickness of 5mm. Custom fabricated for ice, field and street hockey along with kickboxing & other heavy contact sports where blows from pointed objects are expected.

Helmet straps available.

Mouthguard Colors: Bright Red, Green, Black, Dark Yellow, Bright Yellow
Hot Pink, Dark Red, Purple, Light Blue, Orange, Dark Blue and White.

PLAYSAFE... The Leading Custom Fabricated Sports Mouthguard Worldwide

Invented in 1982, PLAYSAFE has become the top choice in custom fabricated mouthguards for athletes in Europe, Australia, and the United States. In 1985 PLAYSAFE mouthguards were tested and recommended for endorsement by the Australian Institute of Sport.