Protection for Boxer's teeth: what is it called, how much does it cost and what is it for?

Sports equipment is specially designed to improve the athlete’s comfort during competitions and training. You can safely discard many attributes, leaving only the most necessary ones. Protection for a boxer's teeth in the form of a mouthguard or caps is a mandatory attribute.

Removable dental appliances perform a protective function. Before their creation, boxing was an extremely dangerous sport. According to statistics, with a strong uppercut to the chin, many boxers lost several teeth at once, and in some cases even received more severe injuries: dental fragments getting into the trachea, serious cuts to the mucous membrane, etc.

Purpose of the mouth guard

What is this equipment for? Its main function is to protect the athlete’s teeth. This is a mandatory attribute for a boxer during a fight or sparring.

At the beginning of the development of boxing, mouthguards were not used. And it is not surprising that boxers then were often toothless. And in severe cases, tooth fragments penetrated the trachea, cut the mucous membrane, etc.

The mouth guard is also used in other fighting disciplines. And this is logical, because she:

1. Effectively protects teeth and jaws.
2. Reduces the risk of jaw fracture and concussion.
3. Helps prevent tracheal obstruction. After all, when a tooth is knocked out, air does not flow.
4. Helps reduce the number of lacerations in the oral cavity.

Today, elastic polymers are used to make mouthguards. When heated, they change their shape. Therefore, the mouthguard can be easily adjusted to an individual bite. This factor leads to a decrease in intracranial pressure and reduces the load on the cervical vertebrae.

It is very important to choose a mouth guard well.

According to statistics, a dental guard helps keep rows of teeth intact during a fight, even with knockouts to the chin.

The same Ovechkin tooth. How did he lose it?

It was a long time ago.

It seems that Ovechkin has had a hole where one of his front teeth used to be since he was in the NHL. Toothless, he made the cover of ESPN magazine and a dozen smaller publications. Sculptors from Madame Tussauds and gamers who played NHL2K10 on Xbox remembered him as toothless. He starred in commercials toothless and came to his own wedding toothless. And this signature smile is as important a part of Alexander’s image as a strong click from the left throw-in circle. And the question of why he doesn’t insert at least temporary prostheses for himself has not been relevant for a long time.

This image of Ovechkin is a little over 10 years old. In his first two seasons in the NHL, problems with knocked out teeth passed him by, although he handed out 200 power moves and blocked shots on par with everyone else. At the World Championships in Moscow in 2007, Alexander was still smiling at all 32, although there were few reasons to rejoice, and even in September, in an interview for the official film of the league about young stars (released in the middle of winter), Ovechkin still had a whole jaw. But she did not remain in this state for long.

On the evening of October 5, 2007, after the first official game of the season with Atlanta, the number of his personal dentist appeared in Alexander’s telephone contact book. Throughout the game, he tormented the Thrashers defenders with hits, shots and dangerous passes, and Capitals head coach Glen Hanlon generally said that this was the best game of a sniper for Washington, although by that time Ovechkin had more than 100 goals in NHL.

“Atlanta” started up and began to take revenge. At the end of the second period, Ilya Kovalchuk played rudely against Alexander - then Washington’s opponents were still sent off for cross-checking, and after the break, Atlanta defender Steve McCarthy cracked Ovechkin in the face with the handle of his stick and beat him to the point of bleeding. The referees missed this point.

Ovechkin finished the match with a cotton swab under his lip, gave an assist, and after the game he received 14 stitches and had his upper incisor removed. “He was so excited he looked like a little baby who had his first milk out and was wondering what the Tooth Fairy would do,” wrote the Washington Post. “Oh, now I'm very hot. The girls will go crazy. “I’m like a warrior,” Ovi himself said.

At the next training session, he smiled a lot and willingly showed reporters what had happened to his jaw. The tooth remained in Atlanta.

Washington did not see any heroism in this story. “Ovechkin is one of probably 15 thousand hockey players who had their teeth knocked out. If you can't continue playing without a tooth, you'd better look for another sport," Hanlon laughed.

The 2007/08 season turned out to be the best of Ovechkin’s career. He scored 65 goals and 112 points, still his personal bests. Alexander became the most valuable, most goal-scoring and most productive hockey player of the season, and also led Washington to the playoffs for the first time. In January, he signed a $124 million contract, which was an NHL record at the time, and a few weeks later he scored four goals in a game in which his nose was broken. By the way, his nose was broken five times.

In the same season, Ovechkin won the World Championship for the first time and, it seems, never played so usefully for the national team again.

He has repeatedly said that he will get a tooth inserted when he retires from hockey, and this is not related to image or advertising obligations. This is better for your health, because repeated surgery will bring even greater destruction to the jaw. And her risk is huge, and for this it is not necessary to play as aggressively as Ovechkin.

It is enough to be at someone else's gate in the wrong place.

Or unsuccessfully place the stick in the center of the ice.

Or just sit on the bench for a second, like in the first game of the finals with Vegas.

And it’s even worse to be in the path of Ovechkin’s own throw. Islanders defenseman Jack Hillen lost five teeth and was told by a surgeon that he could have shot himself in the head with a gun with the same effect.

Varieties of mouth guards

The most common modification is single-jawed.

Its advantages:

1. Wearing comfort.
2. Practicality.
3. Face protection from impacts.
4. Does not create any obstruction to breathing.

The two-jaw version is considered more reliable. But it is very uncomfortable and makes breathing difficult. Therefore, it is used less often.

Professional such equipment is also a fixative. To develop its convenience, it is important to comply with the following criteria:

1. The plates must be flexible and durable.
2. There should be no pain when wearing it.
3. It should have no taste or smell.

Signs of choosing the right mouth guard:

1. Clear speech.
2. Free breathing.

About production

Mouthguards produced at enterprises have specific parameters and shapes. These are cast products. There is no need to customize them. You can buy a cheap version, but it has a weak protective effect. You can pay a serious price for such cheapness.

Molded plates are held in high esteem by both beginners and professionals. During the production of caps, a special thermoplastic blank is used. If a product made from this material is placed in water at a temperature of +95 C, it softens like plasticine. It can be given the shape of a certain row of teeth. To do this, after heating, the workpiece is slightly cooled and pressed tightly against the teeth with your fingers. Once cooled, it is ready for use.

The best option is to create a mouth guard using a plaster cast. The procedure takes place in a dental office.

Making protection for Boxer teeth

There is no need to customize cast mouth guards for boxing; they are produced by a factory of a certain shape and size. You can buy a mouthguard inexpensively, but choosing the perfect one is almost impossible. Such caps will make the impact softer, however, due to the loose alignment of the teeth, you should not expect that the enamel will not crack and the lips will not be damaged.

Molded plates are loved by beginners and professional boxers alike. When receiving the caps, a special thermoplastic blank is used. This material, when lowered into water heated to 95 degrees, becomes soft and in this softened state it can be shaped into a specific dentition. After heating, it is enough to cool the workpiece a little, chew and press firmly to the surface of the teeth with your fingers. After cooling, the product is ready for use.

The most preferable option would be to have the plates made from a plaster cast in the dentist's office. Protection for Boxer teeth with individual mouthguards made of high-tech materials is the safest, most comfortable, but also the most expensive.

Remember, when using protective caps there should be no pain, discomfort, or difficulty breathing, and the design itself should be elastic and strong.

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Price and purchase issues

How much does a mouth guard cost? Different prices. You should study the market. And then a couple of popular examples from top ones are offered. Red or black.

Thanks to it, teeth, lips, jaws and gums are much less likely to be injured. The product is created using innovative technologies. It is placed on the teeth meticulously accurately and very conveniently.

Its price tag is 990 rubles.

1. "Everlast".

Single jaw modification. Boxers often use it in training. It can be used in other martial arts as well. The principle of its production is to heat it up and bite it. This is a method of adjusting the product to individual jaw parameters.

Its price is 300 rubles.

How to prepare a mouthguard for boxing: specifics and tips

Any contact athlete, even a novice boxer who is just starting to practice boxing, is sure to face the question - how to cook a mouth guard? For boxing, this type of equipment is especially important, because a mouth guard (from the German “kappe”, which means “cover”) protects the athlete from serious injuries to the jaw. Of course, this is not a panacea for knockouts, as many people believe, but the mouthguard really helps to avoid cuts, displacement and fractures of the jaw even during the toughest fights.

The question of how to prepare a mouthguard for boxing is also important because a mouthguard is functional only in a situation if it anatomically matches the athlete’s jaw, that is, if it is welded correctly. If the mouthguard is prepared incorrectly, it will only interfere and become a real problem for the fighter. Please note that today you can purchase the following types of mouthguards:

• Standard mouthguards. This type of mouthguard for boxing does not need to be prepared; it has a static, permanent shape and cannot be changed. These mouthguards are universal, but not always comfortable.
• Thermoplastic mouthguards. They are made of flexible plastic that easily changes shape when heated and immediately hardens when cooled. This type of boxing mouthguard is “brewed”.
• Individual mouthguards. In most cases, this option is used only by individual boxers; the mouthguard is created in the laboratory, taking into account all the anatomical features of a particular jaw.

In other words, if you are wondering how to properly cook a boxing mouth guard, then we are talking about a thermoplastic version. Today, these trays have become widespread because they make it easy to obtain a product of the desired shape, do not require special equipment when “cooking” and are quite inexpensive.

Technology of “cooking” a boxing mouthguard

The technology for cooking (more precisely, boiling) a mouth guard for boxing is quite simple, but even the simplest action requires strict adherence to the algorithm. If you make a mistake or violate the specified time intervals, then you may not be able to make a mouthguard with which you will be comfortable and comfortable boxing. So, here is the sequence of actions you need to perform:

• Prepare two vessels with a wide neck, one should contain just boiled water, the other should contain cooled (but not ice-cold) water.
• Remove the mouth guard from the packaging and carefully place it in a container of boiling water (provide yourself with a device for further safe removal of the mouth guard).
• The mouth guard needs to “brew” from 30 to 60 seconds; this is the optimal period; if you reduce it, the mouth guard will not “soften” enough; if you exceed it, the plastic may become too pliable and will not recover.
• After the specified time period has passed, remove the mouthguard from the water and clamp it in your mouth between your jaws. Don't worry - the mouthguard won't be hot. Bite down firmly on the mouthguard and, if necessary, press the protruding edges against your jaw with your fingers.
• On average, manufacturers of modern mouth guards indicate that it takes at least 30 seconds and no more than 3 minutes for the mouth guard to precisely take the desired shape.
• Then take out the mouthguard (don't be afraid - it's not toffee, it won't stick to your teeth) and put it in the cooled liquid for just a couple of minutes so that it hardens thoroughly.
• Remove the mouthguard from the water and try it on. If you welded the mouthguard correctly, it will fit perfectly to your jaw and will become a faithful and reliable friend for the coming months of training.

Now you know how to cook a mouth guard for boxing. The video below offers the described option with some clarifications. But making a mouthguard is the second stage, the first is purchasing quality equipment. And to make this task easier for you, we suggest visiting this section of the website /zashhita-dlja-edinoborstv/kapi-dlja-edinoborstv/. Here you will find excellent mouthguards from brands whose fame in the world of sports speaks for itself.