Junior 2 is starting to play rugby (10).
We’ve bought her a mouldable mouth guard, but following the instructions, it looks like it’s going to fall out every time she opens her mouth – it doesn’t grip the teeth. We’ve had half a dozen goes at heating / trying to refit it without success.

Any ideas/recommendations on brands or models that work?

TIA

A guard bought through your dentist, having taken a mould of Junior 2’s teeth?

A guard bought through your dentist, having taken a mould of Junior 2’s teeth?

Longer term maybe, but she needs something this week.

Couple of wraps of ductape should keep the jaw closed and prevent slipping of said guard.

My experience with the ‘cheaper’ mouldable mouth guards was that you can only really mold them once. And learnt from experience (Thai boxing) that it’s cheaper and less painful to get a proper guard 😐

The moldable ones I found you have to bite into them really hard and use finger to bend them about. Also it had to be pretty hot to mold properly too.

Ones from the dentist are much better, you totally forget they are in after a few minutes.

Agree with the dentist comments. I suffer with bruxism and tried all kinds of cheap guards before handing over the cash to my dentist. Wish I’d done it earlier. Perhaps a cheap one in the short term?

Mrs Dubs did one of the Opro self mould kits – cheaper than having the dentist do the impression for you I think.

I don’t think the mould-yourself ones are ever a good fit maybe just put up with it and get an opro sorted asap.

I’d get cracking and head to the dentist asap.

I spent my teenage years with fixed braces attached to both sets of teeth, so was unable to wear a mouthguard when playing rugby and hockey.

Gut feel says she’ll be fine without in the short term before the dentist made one comes through.

First problem if you bite hard is that you may nearly bite through it so that the guard is very thin over the teeth.
Depends on the guard but need to mould over the gum for retention
Age 10 there are still likely to be baby teeth present so mouth will change and guard will no longer fit so you may wish the cheaper option of a mouldable, it does offer less protection although the kids do tend to cause less damage to each other before puberty. After this when they are bigger and stronger I’d definitely recommend a custom made
If wearing a brace you need to ask your orthodontist what they recommend.
I’d also advise asking your own dentist. I have in the past fitted a few mouldable ones for kids, I didn’t charge for this but each dentist may have their own policy

Hardly any 10 yos keep gum shields in their mouths anyway… they just hold them in their teeth – funny when you see the photos of them. Maybe try leaving t in the boiling water for slightly longer. oOr it maybe that you’ve bought the wrong size.

As for brands that work – there’s only 1 I’ve found that actually does mould properly for my lad – Bad Boy.
They are like a dual-compound, the inside is softer and once heated, very pliable. Would recommend if stuggling to get a fit. Except, I’m not sure they do one small enough for a 10 yo…

Thanks all – I’ve picked up another gel version which we will have a go with. If she sticks with it, we’ll get a proper one done at the dentists.