Are mouth guard the same for all sports?

Question

Can mouth guard for boxing be used for karate, basket balls, etc?

Are they are the same?

Answer 1

No they are not. The mouth guards are designed to protect against different kinds of impact most common to sports.

• You have the top only mouth guard which is meant to be something between your teeth for chomping impact.
• You have a separate top and bottom mouth guard which has a full set covering each teeth to help prevent outside impact into the teeth but leaves a gap in the middle and lets the jaws move independently.
• You have a top and bottom together mouth guard which which is designed to keep the jaws in place as well as prevent chomping and often has the outer protection as well to prevent teeth from moving.
• You have standard plastic/acrylic/etc... ones as well as ones custom molded to the teeth. Custom molding helps secure the teeth better from impact directly to the mouth/teeth, while the harder plastic ones makes it protect general hits to the mouth area, but doesn't expect direct teeth contact.
• Then there are medical mouth guards as well to adjust jaw position and help in chomping while sleeping etc...

In summary, use the recommended mouth guard for the sport you want to participate in or need you have. Research and experience goes into the needed mouth protection for each one and the guards are designed specifically for that. There are some variations and min-max protection within the guards, but follow the sport you are after. If all the mouth guard styles are for the same sport/purpose then find what you like best.

Note: There are some mouth guards that say for everything, that is because it's extra protective and they are saying it will work for whatever since it's the max protection design you might need.