Citation

Maeda Y, Machi H, Tsugawa T. Br. J. Sports Med. 2006; 40(12): 1006-1008.

Affiliation

Osaka University School of Dentistry, Division for Interdisciplinary Dentistry, Osaka, Japan. ymaeda@dent.osaka-u.ac.jp

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsm.2006.030874

PMID

17000712

PMCID

PMC2577446

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the influences of design and finishing on mouthguard wearability and retention. Materials and METHODS: 17 students at the Dental Technician Institute at Osaka University School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan, participated in this study after providing informed consent. For each student, a single-layer custom-made mouthguard was fabricated from a 3.8-mm-thick ethylene-vinyl acetate sheet using a standardised procedure to obtain a precise fit. Each mouthguard was modified by changing the margin location and shape through five consecutive steps. At each step, questionnaires with a visual analogue scale regarding wearability (comfort, breathing, speaking, swallowing, lip closure, temporomandibular joint fatigue and swallowing) and retention were completed by subjects after wearing the mouthguard for 5 min. Statistical analyses were carried out among the steps using Wilcoxon's signed-rank test with a significance level of p<0.05. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found for comfort, breathing, speaking and swallowing by trimming the palatal margin to the cervical area, smooth finishing and occlusal adjustment of the mouthguard (p<0.01). No significant differences were found for retention throughout the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this experimental study, design and finishing at the palatal side appear to have significant influences on mouthguard wearability, but not retention.

Language: en