Fabricating a better mouthguard. Part I: factors influencing mouthguard thinning

There is some concern regarding the amount of material thinning that occurs during the fabrication of custom-fabricated mouthguards. It is unclear if this thinning is merely a consequence of the fabrication process or related to other factors such as jaw size. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution that various dimensional characteristics of the dental arch and the height of the stone model would have on mouthguard thinning. Fifteen subjects participated in this investigation. Alginate impressions from each subject were used to produce three replicas of the maxillary dentition with only the height of the base varying amongst them. The total height of the three models were 20, 25, and 30 mm. A single mouthguard was produced using each of the stone models. The material thickness of the mouthguard was assessed at the labial and occlusal surfaces. Additionally, the dimensions of the stone models were documented. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the linear relationship between material thickness and (i) the height of the stone models, (ii) the arch length and (iii) the area covered by the stone model. Statistical tests performed using the mean thickness values collected from the incisors and canines revealed a high negative correlation between the height of the stone model and material thickness (r = -0.82). In addition, a low to moderate positive linear correlation was noted between arch length and occlusal thickness at the molars (r = 0.57) and between the area of the stone model with the occlusal thickness (r = 0.49). The results of the present study indicate that the height of the model used to fabricate custom mouthguards should be kept as low as possible but still allow for the production of a properly fitting mouthguard.