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60PlusWinger

Half Shield w/ mouth guard vs Cage?

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I've been using half shields for a couple years. Love em, aesthetics and function BUT being an adult with a full time job I can't afford to be missing teeth considering implants are almost never covered by dental insurance or health insurance. Cage is a sure bet solution but can a half Shield and mouth guard work or are mouth guards basically for concussions. Took a puck to the face once, not the teeth and was fine but what are your thoughts full timers?

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Problem with mouthguard's are that at best they're only going to protect your top row of teeth. Really, it's just not worth it, given how expensive dental work can be. A few weeks ago I was playing in a pickup and went to flip the puck out of the zone and hit a guy in the mouth. He was back last week and told me it was going to cost him around $3K out of pocket for dental work (his insurance covered around $5K of it). The week after that I was watching the C league summer title game (we were in the D league game after) and girls face got destroyed when she cut right into her teammates dump in shot. She lose 9-10 teeth, broke her jaw, and had some really nasty gashes. And then there's sticks to the eye to worry about...

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Just now, cmflynn said:

Problem with mouthguard's are that at best they're only going to protect your top row of teeth. Really, it's just not worth it, given how expensive dental work can be. A few weeks ago I was playing in a pickup and went to flip the puck out of the zone and hit a guy in the mouth. He was back last week and told me it was going to cost him around $3K out of pocket for dental work (his insurance covered around $5K of it). The week after that I was watching the C league summer title game (we were in the D league game after) and girls face got destroyed when she cut right into her teammates dump in shot. She lose 9-10 teeth, broke her jaw, and had some really nasty gashes. And then there's sticks to the eye to worry about...

This right here is what I'm worried about every time I think about getting a half shield. You always hear stories of first time on the ice with half shield and something happens to your face. No thanks.

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A mouth guard will not help with a puck to the face.  Find a cage you like and wear it.  It will only take a few skates to get used to it.  You could even try the Bauer Profile Oreo cage a lot of the college guys like the Oreo cages.

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39 minutes ago, 60PlusWinger said:

Knock on wood, I've never had a problem with a halfer but I don't trust a lot of the skaters on the ice. It's not the deflected shot Im worried about but it only takes one time. 

That's exactly what got me to switch from halfie to a full cage, well that and going back to playing in mens league hockey. There's always one hero who thinks it's game 7.

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Mouth guards are really only meant to keep you from biting your tongue off, keeping your teeth in one spot just in case they were to get knocked out, and for minor pumps to the chin like strosedefence said above. I wear a half and don't even worry about wearing the mouthguard anymore. After 1 1/2 years as an athletic training student you learn a lot of things that you wouldn't expect. On the top of that list is that mouth guards don't really do much but they add in that they *might* be able to stop concussions from happening just to freak parents out enough so their kids will be forced to wear them. Depending on what league I play in I'll break the mouth guard back out just in case. My normal league tends to keep shots waist high or lower so I generally don't have to worry about it except for the occasional deflection. I'll try to find a picture later but I have noticed that some pro players are getting in the habit of putting a gloved hand over their lower face just in case they do get hit when they go to block a shot or challenge the player with the puck. You could do something like that but of course that would mean that you have only one hand on your stick when you challenge another player. 

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I learned the hard way and luckily didn't lose any teeth but my own players stick smacked me in the mouth and 20 stitches later I have a full cage. And I have been hit in it a few times since. Funny thing is I actually think I prefer it to a visor in terms of vision/comfort. Sure a mouth guard is better than no mouth guard but in my opinion don't even risk it if you're just playing recreationally ... I wish I didn't .... 

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I asked an ex pro what he thought about this, his simple comment was "are you getting paid enough to play and have the dental work covered WHEN it happens?" Contrary to that wise advice, a couple of months later I had talked myself into buying a visor and was waiting for it to arrive when I went to a tournament. Had a player break his stick across my cage, right where my teeth would have been. I could have been wearing the best mouthguard in the world and I would have still been picking teeth out of the back of my throat..... Got home to see the visor had arrived and promptly sold it, end of story. As a ref and a coach, every year I see dozens of chipped / missing teeth incidents and often from the most innocent of events (friendly scrimmage, a beginner falls over and his stick flicks up and catches a div 1 player in the mouth, 3 teeth gone). To quote Dirty Harry " you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"

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On 9/29/2016 at 7:35 PM, 60PlusWinger said:

I've been using half shields for a couple years. Love em, aesthetics and function BUT being an adult with a full time job I can't afford to be missing teeth considering implants are almost never covered by dental insurance or health insurance. Cage is a sure bet solution but can a half Shield and mouth guard work or are mouth guards basically for concussions. Took a puck to the face once, not the teeth and was fine but what are your thoughts full timers?

 

I use a full cage. Have since I played in the USHL and OHL. I paid way too much money for braces to have my teeth knocked out. I did use a half shield for a bit but always went back to the full cage as I was afraid a rouge stick, shot or elbow was going to wreck my eyes or mouth. 

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You could always use a bubble shield or Bauer makes the shield / cage combo. I've been playing the last with with a visor (no mouth guard), and wile I love everything about it, I know that it's a gamble every time I step out onto the ice. Thinking about the Profile cage our cage / visor combo myself.

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I just got back from HG with a Profile 2 Oreo cage. For $35 I'll give it a shot. I had a True Vision cage before I went to the visor and did not like it. The Profile design is much more of what I have been looking for. I'll report back later in the week with my thoughts on it.

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2 hours ago, tpedersen3118 said:

I just got back from HG with a Profile 2 Oreo cage. For $35 I'll give it a shot. I had a True Vision cage before I went to the visor and did not like it. The Profile design is much more of what I have been looking for. I'll report back later in the week with my thoughts on it.

 

Let me know how you like it. I have been eyeing that. 

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On 9/30/2016 at 4:06 PM, Vet88 said:

To quote Dirty Harry " you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"

I had previously done the whole "knock on wood" thing. Then I guess my luck ran out and I sat at home for four months with a broken ankle. If I ever step on the ice again as a skater, I'll have a full cage. 

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49 minutes ago, IPv6Freely said:

I had previously done the whole "knock on wood" thing. Then I guess my luck ran out and I sat at home for four months with a broken ankle. If I ever step on the ice again as a skater, I'll have a full cage. 

Sorry if I missed something obvious. But cages for ankle protection? What? Or was it a "didn't have facial protection which lead to awkwardly avoiding contact which lead to the broken ankle" thing? 

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2 hours ago, kmfdm86 said:

Sorry if I missed something obvious. But cages for ankle protection? What? Or was it a "didn't have facial protection which lead to awkwardly avoiding contact which lead to the broken ankle" thing? 

Heh, I guess I can see how that may have been confusing. I just meant my luck ran out in general so now I'm being more careful across the board.

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On 9/29/2016 at 11:15 PM, cmflynn said:

Problem with mouthguard's are that at best they're only going to protect your top row of teeth. Really, it's just not worth it, given how expensive dental work can be. A few weeks ago I was playing in a pickup and went to flip the puck out of the zone and hit a guy in the mouth. He was back last week and told me it was going to cost him around $3K out of pocket for dental work (his insurance covered around $5K of it). The week after that I was watching the C league summer title game (we were in the D league game after) and girls face got destroyed when she cut right into her teammates dump in shot. She lose 9-10 teeth, broke her jaw, and had some really nasty gashes. And then there's sticks to the eye to worry about...

Always hate guys who do this, especially in pick up. There is no need for the puck to ever be head high in a pick up skate.

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On October 3, 2016 at 4:51 PM, Nicholas G said:

Let me know how you like it. I have been eyeing that. 

I played a couple of games with it over the weekend and I like it. It's going to take a few more games to get used to again but I would highly recommend it. The Oreo was the way to go. I stopped at Hockey Giant last night  for more tape and they were all sold out of them in every size. When I picked mine up during the week they had at least 6 on the rack. $35 well spent!

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Full cage with white paint on the inside so that the cage camos out when you look down to see the puck coming onto your stick ... done.

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On 10/10/2016 at 11:01 AM, Cosmic said:

Full cage with white paint on the inside so that the cage camos out when you look down to see the puck coming onto your stick ... done.

As dumb as if might sound I actually went and painted a layer of flat white over the inside of my Oreo cage. The white paint Bauer used was glossy and was annoying 

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2 ER visits later, I went back to a cage.  I use the Bauer ReAKT titanium and it is amazing how light it is.  I won't lie and say it's better than a visor, but is certainly better than another ER visit at 1am after a beer league game because some idiot can't control their stick.  I used a cage for the vast majority of my hockey "career" (mite through college and now beer leagues), and it is simply the way to go for those of us not getting paid to play.  I have since lost count how many more ER visits I would have needed since I started using the cage between all the pucks, sticks, and elbows.  Do yourself a favor and use it, and make a mental reminder every time you take a shot to the cage that otherwise would have resulted in missed work, lost money, and pain.

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