Properties of Custom-Made Mouth-Protector Materials

In brief: Increased interest in preventing dental injuries in sports has resulted in more testing of and improvement in protective equipment. In this study, hardness, tear strength, and tear energy were machine-tested in nine custom-made mouth-protector materials. Four of the materials made from polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene or hard polyurethane had high values for all three properties. Two materials debonded during the tear energy test. The soft polyurethane and the rubber had low values for all three properties. Visibility of clear and colored mouth protectors was tested with human subjects and observers. Yellow mouth protectors were visible at almost twice the distance of the clear protectors. This information could benefit officials who must enforce mouth-protector regulations.