Chadd 916 Report post Posted December 6, 2007 Its my understanding that the bottom only mouth guards are primarily for people with full cages, to keep you from getting a concussion and biting your tongue, while upper ones are for people without full cages, and does all the above and also protects the top teeth. Not sure if you all just assumed that knowledge.Mouthguards do nothing to prevent concussions. Actually, they do. Mouthguards are the only thing preventing a concussion on hits to the jaw/chin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trooper 8 Report post Posted December 6, 2007 Its my understanding that the bottom only mouth guards are primarily for people with full cages, to keep you from getting a concussion and biting your tongue, while upper ones are for people without full cages, and does all the above and also protects the top teeth. Not sure if you all just assumed that knowledge.Mouthguards do nothing to prevent concussions. Actually, they do. Mouthguards are the only thing preventing a concussion on hits to the jaw/chin.Concussions are caused by the brain impacting the inside of the skull, and neck/upper back strength is important, as a "whippy" head is more easily concussed than a "rigid" head.Chip Burke, Pens doc and member of the NHL concussion program, spoke on the very subject at a clinic. He concluded there was no evidence other than marketing showing a reduced rate of concussions due to mouthguards. His children wear the cheap, basic mouthguard.There is anecdotal reasoning that would support the notion that they do, and of course they may absorb some small amount of the force, but there have been no conclusive scientific studies to prove their effectiveness. It's really a moot point as mouthguards should be worn for their primary reason, to protect the teeth/jaw Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jordan 13 Report post Posted December 6, 2007 The evidence is indeed mixed at this point; however, there are some studies that demonstrate efficacy.My own opinion is since there is the possibility of increased protection from head injury, and definitive evidence supporting increased dental proetection - why not use one. I have my son wearing one.Here is a link to a study which is a summary of the studies:Mouthguard Study Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hockeydog 8 Report post Posted December 6, 2007 Since developing this product, no NFL player wearing The Maher Mouth Guard has ever succumbed to a concussion from a blow to the jaw! The Maher Mouth Guard should be worn whenever there is a distinct possibility of contact with any hard object, including: another person, a ball, puck or stick, a wall or even the ground. Above quote from this site Related link Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
