I've a question regarding mouth-guards for kids who've still 99% of their baby-teeth. My 6 year old's are wee sharks teeth - 3 millimetres or so on average. Its been impossible to fit him with any of even the smallest youth sized guards; even after getting out scalpels and dremel tools to whittle 'em ( the guards that it ) down. We've gone through half-dozen. I took him to his dentist today and though she was able to make a custom mould for 9 year old brother, she said forget about trying one for him - even a custom wouldn't fit well and it'd be a waste of money as he's due to be loosing teeth and having new one's poppin in all the time. He's really keen on boxing and is surprisingly good for his age. I think the MMA academy has regs about mouth-pieces and understandable issues regarding liab and insurance so they want him to have one. What would ya recommend ?
We used to have a youths double shock doctor and just kept cutting it down until it fits. Scissors are your friend
What a little hard nut! you must be very proud. I'd say get creative with a dirt cheep mouth guard and some scissors till your confident then whittle a decent one down. (use hot water to get rid of the uncomfortable edges that cutting a mouth guard leaves)
The cheap method may be OK to start but I'd still stick to a decent make as soon as possible. If my son had his time again I'd have gone for a gell mouthguard. Kids teeth are forever changing. I'd cut one down as far as you dare then if it's still too big leave it a while, it'll fit eventually Better than the 3 years with an orthodontist
Try a sporting goods store that sells equipment for pee-wee football or hockey. They would probably be able to help you out. BTW, your dentist is an idiot. I don't care if they're baby teeth you don't want him getting them knocked out. Also, the main reason I wear one is to keep from getting my lips all cut up from being jammed into my teeth. I can tell you from experience that is not much fun.
They help with damage to the jaw itself as well. I've tried to find a site but junior seems to be the smallest. Seen plenty of 5 year olds in them so it is possible. Some of the time it might just be the gag reflex making it difficult to fit in a kids mouth. Keep cutting until it stops
We never really had any trouble fitting mouthguards for any of our three who have had them since they were five or so. As has already been pointed out it involves lots of cutting and trimming and leaving the mouthguard in the hot water for longer than usual so it is a little more pliable. We never used to bother with the dentally fitted ones for the rasons you dentist has poined out. There teeth are changing so much - we do new mouthguards orat least remold them every month or two esp when they were small.
Finally was able to get one to fit. Shock Doctor's Gel Max Strapless was the only one that really worked. The others eventually became deformed after a few times of boiling. The dentist did make a custom fit for his 9 year old brother - made a mould for his teeth and fitted the hard mould with removable gel-teeth to substitute for the few that are still to come in later - thought that clever.
Will do. I didn't think of that, havin' never boxed. Makes sense that any kind of encumbrance will result in the distraction being magnified manifold times in the ring. I'll have him to wear it when he's working the bag at home. They've not had the guys to actually start sparring yet ( of course )...working on footwork, stances, hitting the bags, skipping rope <==== that's the hard one for 'im...he's learnt the slip, surprisingly good at bobbing, but he gets frustrated jumping rope.
err.. since when has anyone needed a mouth guard for pad work? Is it even healthy for small hands with bones that are still forming to hit objects with a lot of force? And 6 years old doing sparring, and I take this to mean 6 year olds punching each other in the face with a reasonable amount of force, wtf?
Gumshield can be a very sensible addition drowning on who's both holding the pads or working. Not sure about boxing but in kickboxing & Thai boxing head shots are not often allowed but happen anyway. Better safe than sorry. Even arts considered light by comparison do allow head shots for kids at six, TKD for example
