Mouthguard necessary with full cage?

[Jarick 5]

Okay so I've been wearing a mouthguard and a full cage for pickup/beer/whatever hockey for the last few months. Today I lost my mouthguard and couldn't find it before a game, ended up playing without it and I was able to breathe and communicate much better.

So I'm wondering if a mouthguard is "necessary" or recommended with a full cage? I've got an Intake and Bauer 4000 combo so it's super protective. I play some hockey with great guys who know what they're doing but also with lower level players who are crashing around.

As an aside, WEAR A CAGE WHEN PLAYING WITH QUASI-BEGINNERS. I took a HARD snapper right to the face, a riser, it would have easily slice my lip, busted a tooth, or knocked my nose. Instead I just grabbed the puck and passed it out.

[hockeymom 2]

A mouthguard is critical without a full cage... with one, the evidence is less clear. Mainly because there hasn't been enough research to draw a clear conclusion. At a minimum, it certainly still acts as a shock absorber if your head gets hit.

One from the dentist is MUCH better for breathing and communication.

Mouthguards provide protection to the athlete in three different ways. Mouthguards protect against concussions by serving as a shock absorber, they protect against neck injuries, and they protect the teeth by distributing the force of a blow over all the teeth and diminishing contact between the mandible (lower jaw) and the maxilla (upper jaw). The most important function of the mouthguard is in the prevention of concussions and brain injuries (Witzig, 1992). A mouthguard with the proper thickness of 3 to 5 mm between the teeth can reduce the rate of concussion by preventing the condyle (lower jaw hinge) from being forced into the base of the brain (temporal bone) at impact. Ninety five percent of all football concussions are transmitted through the mandible to the brain (Witzig, 1992). The use of mouthguards should be encouraged in all contact sports as the most important value of the mouthguard is the concussion saving effect following impact to the mandible (Stenger, 1964).

[SuperMan3 1]

why even ask if it's necessary, even pros wear mouthgaurds

[SickLife 2]

why even ask if it's necessary, even pros wear mouthgaurds

what pro's wear a full cage with it though?

[Hede 2]

I got my front teeth broken wenn i was 12 i think with a full cage. No mouthguard. The cage slammed back in my teeth. That is the only time i had teeth injuries. And i never played with a moutgard. Still don´t.

[The Stranger 0]

mouthguards are for concusion prevention, so if your brain is important to you then you should probably use it.

[--notorious 0]

Yeah, but pros aren't playing beer league with probably minimal or no contact

[chippa13 1844]

why even ask if it's necessary, even pros wear mouthgaurds

what pro's wear a full cage with it though?

Niklas Kronwall.

[greatone 0]

A full cage has NOTHING to do with a mouthguard. You are comparing apples to oranges. A mouthguard is for concussion prevention, a cage is for face protection. I do not understand your comparison.

[Vapor 0]

A full cage has NOTHING to do with a mouthguard. You are comparing apples to oranges.

Ok ill start, they are both fruit...

[hockeydoc 0]

Yeah, but pros aren't playing beer league with probably minimal or no contact

What beer league do you play in? In every beer league I've been in there are plenty of drunk, out of control, sick bastards that help keep the necessity for protective gear at a premium. lol :lol:

...But I don't wear a mouth guard under my cage though. I learned to duck, bob and weave. ;) You know, heads up hockey.

The concusion issue is true, and the cage slamming your jaw can break teath and help increase TMJ.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I tried wearing one (I'm also a cager and beer leaguer) but couldn't breath with it in, so I stopped using it. If I played contact, then I'd definitely use a mouthguard. But for minimal contact beer league, I'd say a cage is more essential than a mouthguard, IMHO.

[team50 20]

A mouthguard also helps (intense) players who grind their teeth while playing.

[cbj05 0]

Yes, a mouthguard can help prevent concussions, but the main reason why I wear a mouthguard is that I am a huge lip-biter. Whenever I get hit or fall down, I have a knack of biting down on my lip/tounge. So everytime I forget my mouthguard at home, I usually end up biting chunks out of my lip. Since I don't like swallowing blood, I stick with a mouthguard.

I play Midget hockey, so I wear a full cage and play full body contact.

[top 0]

Ok, to wear a mouthguard with a cage in a beerleague is not a sin but its probably not something youll get penalized for if you dont have one depending on your league rules BUT a mouthguard is all for the prevention of head injuries, The hockey canada paper said that when your badly concussed or your having some kind of mental attack or lapse on the ice your teeth bite together real real tight and apparently its really bad for your brain, and for your teeth obviously, but im not a doctor so i dont know much more then this but the article explained this real well, and they said the rubber of the mouthguard prevents the shock of happening when your bitting real hard cuz well your bitting rubber. But ive seen some nasty things happen with mouth guards i seen a kid get hit and he was brutally concussed and when he rolled over on the ice he completly swallowed the mouth piece and started choking somehow, but like everything else it has its pros and cons. So i would say if you dont like it at all dont wear it but i would recomend a good dentist mouth guard and your set.

[Jarick 5]

Thanks for the feedback.

I did manage to find my mouthguard today, which fits much better than the one I bought last night and screwed up boiling (left it in too long and it got deformed).

Another question: I'm using a cheaper Shock Doctor "Pro" mouthguard. They didn't have any at the store last night so I got a nicer Shock Doctor "Gel Max" mouthguard. Which I subsequently destroyed by boiling too long.

I noticed that the "gel" material in the 'guard was much thicker and from the 5 minutes of research I did on custom mouthguards, thicker is better. Is this the case for preventing concussions? Most of what I read involved keeping the TMJ slightly open and thicker mouthguards to disperse shock. But with a full cage and J-clips, I really doubt my teeth will have any shock presented.

Would it be worthwhile to get a thicker mouthguard or continue using my current one?

[top 0]

My 2.17$ CAD mouthguards are nice and thin and form themselves to my mouth just like a dentist one and they feel the same. But just remold your old one and your set its gonna be like new again

[TBLfan 25]

^^The shock is from the jaw snapping shut. If you've ever taken a bad spill and hit the back of your head(and weren't wearing a mouth piece) you'd know that your jaw snaps shut and besides the daziness your teeth hurt.

[hockeymom 2]

Would it be worthwhile to get a thicker mouthguard or continue using my current one?

Available research has been conclusive in establishing 3-5 mm as the thickness range.

[slapshotsteve73 0]

Cages will protect your teeth from getting hit but as the others have said the mouth guards help prevent head injuries and even accidentally biting your tongue. Its totally up to the player whether you would like to take the risk or not, in a beer league i suppose the risk of head injuries is probably lower but still there.

[Docter Pepper 0]

if you are having trouble breathing try to get a thin mouth guard. I just use a retainer and it isn't noticable

[TBLfan 25]

or a shockdoctor gravity. I haven't tried one but it's worth a shot.

[Elwood 0]

Pros get full-on trainers and therapy to help recover when they get injured. Beer leaguers get crappy insurance/ crappy doctors/overcrowded hospitals (if they are lucky) to 'help'. You can get a concussion even in a non-checking league. All it takes is a good punch to the jaw or a nasty spill or errant stick. Mouthguard = Don't leave home without one.