Custom Sports Mouthguard
A sports mouthguard custom-made on each athlete's models: multi-layer vacuum forming for shock absorption, 2–6 mm thickness by sport, and your own colours and designs.
Our sports mouthguard
A sports mouthguard shields the teeth, jaws and oral soft tissues during training and competition. Ours is custom-made on each athlete’s models, from beginners to semi-professional and professional players, so it fits and retains far better than an over-the-counter boil-and-bite guard.
How it is made
- Multi-layer vacuum forming: the guard is vacuum-formed at high temperature on the model, with laminated layers for better shock absorption.
- Thickness by sport: 2 mm to 6 mm, chosen for the contact intensity of the sport.
- Hand finishing: each guard is carefully trimmed and polished for protection, comfort and retention.
Colours and custom designs
Our in-house design team works with favourite colours, team logos, slogans or personal artwork and builds them into the guard, so every mouthguard carries the wearer’s identity.
What to send us
- Intraoral scans (STL/PLY) or an upper impression; add the lower arch for a two-arch guard.
- The bite, the sport and its contact level, so we can choose the thickness.
- The colours and design you want (logo or artwork files).
- Notes: ongoing orthodontics, fixed restorations, mobile teeth.
To order mouthguards for an athlete or a team, contact Khai Nguyen.
Khai Nguyen Dental Lab fabricates from dental records provided by the dental practice.
Custom, boil-and-bite and stock mouthguards
| Type | How it is formed | What the guidance says |
|---|---|---|
| Stock | Ready-made in a few sizes | Least effective type: generic design, poor fit, inadequate retention (ADA) |
| Boil-and-bite | Softened in hot water, shaped by the wearer’s bite | Poorly fitted unless formed exactly to instructions (ADA); generally not recommended (EA4SD) |
| Custom-made | Vacuum- or pressure-formed on a cast from an impression or scan | Considered by many the most protective, and the most expensive (ADA) |
The Academy for Sports Dentistry (ASD) asks that “mouthguard” be replaced by “a properly fitted custom mouthguard”, fabricated on a stone or imaged model of the athlete under a dentist’s supervision. FDI recommends custom guards for contact and combat sports, even for occasional players. The ADA cites a 2019 systematic review in which non-users had more than twice the risk of orofacial injury, and a 2002 study of 70,936 college basketball players with dental injury rates of 0.12 per 1,000 exposures in custom-guard wearers versus 0.67 in non-users. It adds that other mouthguards can be effective if properly fabricated and consistently worn, and describes the evidence on concussion as mixed.
Thickness: what guidelines and studies report
- ASD: at least 3 mm in the occlusal and labial areas.
- European Association for Sports Dentistry (EA4SD, 2025): 3–4 mm minimum labial to the central incisors (the upper end for high-risk contact sports), 1.5–2 mm over the incisal edges, extension at least to the distal of the maxillary first molars, and laminated multi-layer construction with a soft layer to absorb and a rigid layer to spread the force.
- Impact testing of EVA (Shore A 80, 4.4 J pendulum at 3 m/s): transmitted force fell with thickness, but gains became small beyond 4 mm. The authors put the optimum at around 4 mm, as thicker guards are less comfortable.
- Thinning: pressure-formed guards lost 36–38% of sheet thickness (single layer) and 32–34% (double layer). The authors advise expecting about 50% loss in critical areas. In another study, 100 guards made by 20 technicians from a single 4 mm EVA blank averaged 1.62 mm in the anterior region.
Per our brochure, our guards range from 2 to 6 mm by the contact intensity of the sport. Because the sheet thins during forming, state on the prescription the sport, the playing position and the minimum finished thickness you want labially and occlusally; for contact sports the guidelines above recommend no less than 3 mm.
Impressions and scans for a sports guard
- Which arch: ASD says the guard belongs on the leading (more protruding) arch. Tell us which arch to make.
- What to capture: the labial flange runs towards the vestibular sulcus and the guard reaches at least the first molars, so record the full vestibule and all erupted teeth.
- Bite: EA4SD calls for articulation on a dentist-taken bite registration and balanced contact. Send a bite record or bite scan.
- Special situations: missing teeth, implants and orthodontic appliances need an adapted design (EA4SD). ASD also lists developmental occlusion among the factors to assess.
Export steps per scanner: scanner compatibility and file formats.
Fit check, care and replacement
- At delivery: the dentist checks retention, soft-tissue comfort, speech, breathing and balanced contact (EA4SD).
- Care: rinse in cold water, clean after each use with neutral soap and a soft brush, store dry in a perforated case away from sunlight, and do not chew it (EA4SD).
- Replacement: replace when the flanges are deformed or jagged (EA4SD); have it assessed periodically, at least once a year (FDI).
- Children: FDI recommends a guard in contact sports, especially once the permanent upper front teeth have erupted. ASD leaves the inspection interval to the dentist, partly based on the athlete’s age.
A sports guard is not a bruxism night guard; for that, see our jaw stabilization splint. To order for an athlete or a team, see our ordering process.
Sources: ADA, Athletic mouth protectors; ASD, A Properly Fitted Mouthguard (2024); FDI, Sports mouthguards (2022); Avgerinos et al. (EA4SD), Dent Traumatol 2025;41:246–251; Westerman et al., Dent Traumatol 2002;18:24–27; Tunc et al., Dent Traumatol 2013;29:378–382; Farrington et al., Dent Traumatol 2016;32:14–21.
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