mouth/teeth guards while MTB

[Billy]

There is always the potential to fall/wipe-out in spectacular ways while mountain biking. I've been
thinking lately, whether I should wear a mouth guard, while mountain biking. I'm talking about those
ones that fit in your mouth that go around your teeth, like the hockey players use.

Do the pro mountain bikers ever use protective equipment like that? I guess it might get in the way
of breathing and drinking. Anybody ever had an accident knocking out teeth or biting their tongue?

Just thought I'd get some ideas and start some discussion. Bill.

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"Billy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> There is always the potential to fall/wipe-out in spectacular ways while mountain biking. I've
> been thinking lately, whether I should wear a mouth guard, while mountain biking. I'm talking
> about those ones that fit in your mouth that go around your teeth, like the hockey players use.

I've been mountain biking for 15 years, and never had a spectacular crash. I've had a lot of minor
spills, but I've never been hurt beyond minor scrapes and bruises. If you're crashing badly a lot,
you're doing something wrong.

Furthermore, crashing in the wilderness is foolish, and a burden on those who come to your aid. So
it's selfish too.

If you're talking about MTV-style stunt riding and jumping, that's another sport entirely. Pay no
mind to what you see in the media. It has little to do with real mountain biking.

> Do the pro mountain bikers ever use protective equipment like that? I guess it might get in the
> way of breathing and drinking.

Yup. And crashing sure gets in the way of winning races.

> Anybody ever had an accident knocking out teeth or biting their tongue?

This is more likely to happen while road biking, hitting the pavement face first at speed. All of my
bad crashes have been on the road, and others I know as well.

Off-road speeds tend to be a lot lower, and surfaces more forgiving. Dirt can hurt, but pavement
almost always hurts worse.

Matt O.

 

[Van Bagnol]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Billy) wrote:

> There is always the potential to fall/wipe-out in spectacular ways while mountain biking. I've
> been thinking lately, whether I should wear a mouth guard, while mountain biking. I'm talking
> about those ones that fit in your mouth that go around your teeth, like the hockey players use.
>
> Do the pro mountain bikers ever use protective equipment like that? I guess it might get in
> the way of breathing and drinking. Anybody ever had an accident knocking out teeth or biting
> their tongue?

Most tooth protection I've seen was by full-face helmets like the Gyro Switchblade or ones by Troy
Lee, Answer or Azonic.

I wouldn't think a mouthguard would work well for breathing and hydration, although boxers somehow
manage. Boxing, however, is a highly anaerobic activity compared to cycling, even XC mountain
biking, though perhaps downhill/dual slalom is primarily anaerobic.

Van

--
Van Bagnol / v a n at wco dot com / c r l at bagnol dot com ...enjoys - Theatre / Windsurfing /
Skydiving / Mountain Biking ...feels - "Parang lumalakad ako sa loob ng paniginip" ...thinks - "An
Error is Not a Mistake ... Unless You Refuse to Correct It"

 

[Peter Cole]

"Billy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There is always the potential to fall/wipe-out in spectacular ways while mountain biking. I've
> been thinking lately, whether I should wear a mouth guard, while mountain biking. I'm talking
> about those ones that fit in your mouth that go around your teeth, like the hockey players use.
>
> Do the pro mountain bikers ever use protective equipment like that? I guess it might get in
> the way of breathing and drinking. Anybody ever had an accident knocking out teeth or biting
> their tongue?

It's a good question. Facial injuries from cycling are not that uncommon, and can be severe, like
head injuries. Unfortunately, no one has come up with any practical means of protection that I know
of. It's kind of like the whole helmet debate, there's the question of risk/need, then that of
effectiveness and practicality, not an easy matter to settle.

I have never "face planted" mountain or road biking, but I can see where it is certainly possible. I
have broken ribs (twice) and suffered fairly bad contusions mountain biking, and have seen other,
more serious, injuries among the people I ride with. I did face plant once skiing, and managed to
shear off half a molar when my jaw struck the (icy) ground.

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

...

> I wouldn't think a mouthguard would work well for breathing and hydration, although boxers somehow
> manage. Boxing, however, is a highly anaerobic activity compared to cycling, even XC mountain
> biking, though perhaps downhill/dual slalom is primarily anaerobic.

Boxers, however, pull out their mouthguards between rounds when they are getting a drink. Football
players might be a better comparison; they can drink with the mouthguards in, no problem.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Archer]

In article <62DIa.41226$hz1.111262@sccrnsc01>, [email protected] says...

...

> I have never "face planted" mountain or road biking, but I can see where it is certainly possible.
> I have broken ribs (twice) and suffered fairly bad contusions mountain biking, and have seen
> other, more serious, injuries among the people I ride with. I did face plant once skiing, and
> managed to shear off half a molar when my jaw struck the (icy) ground.

The worst I've gotten from a face plant while skiing is a sore neck, but it reminded me that it
could have been MUCH worse! Luckily I've never had a face plant from a bike.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Chris Phillipo]

In article <[email protected]>, ns_archer1960 @ns_hotmail.com says...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> ...
>
> > I wouldn't think a mouthguard would work well for breathing and hydration, although boxers
> > somehow manage. Boxing, however, is a highly anaerobic activity compared to cycling, even XC
> > mountain biking, though perhaps downhill/dual slalom is primarily anaerobic.
>
> Boxers, however, pull out their mouthguards between rounds when they are getting a drink. Football
> players might be a better comparison; they can drink with the mouthguards in, no problem.
>
>

They can spit them out because it's tied to their helmet.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> In article <[email protected]>, ns_archer1960

...

> > Boxers, however, pull out their mouthguards between rounds when they are getting a drink.
> > Football players might be a better comparison; they can drink with the mouthguards in, no
> > problem.
> >
> >
>
> They can spit them out because it's tied to their helmet.

Even though I could, I seldom did, and if you watch the NFL, you'll see that many of them take their
drink with their mouthguard still in their mouth.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Buck]

"archer" <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote in message

> Even though I could, I seldom did, and if you watch the NFL, you'll see that many of them take
> their drink with their mouthguard still in their mouth.

We always used double mouthguards in martial arts. They are designed with a slit to enable
breathing, but it might be wide enough for drinking if you are careful. Although this isn't the
brand I used, this link provides a good look at what I'm talking about:
http://www.4martialartssupplies.com/mpguard.html

-Buck

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r
p . c o m> says...
> "archer" <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> > Even though I could, I seldom did, and if you watch the NFL, you'll see that many of them take
> > their drink with their mouthguard still in their mouth.
>
> We always used double mouthguards in martial arts. They are designed with a slit to enable
> breathing, but it might be wide enough for drinking if you are careful. Although this isn't the
> brand I used, this link provides a good look at what I'm talking about:
> http://www.4martialartssupplies.com/mpguard.html

Now I see where you're coming from. In football and boxing, most people use single-sided mouth
guards (top only), which allow you to drink, talk (sort of), etc. I can see how that might be a
problem with the double- sided ones you are used to.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Kathy Hecht/Len]

As a road biker, I don't really know the applicability for mtbing, but as a dentist my suggestion
would be that the one size fits all or boil and bite moutguards are not very effective and difficult
to use. Most dentists would be able to fabricate a custom made mouthguard that fits over the top
teeth and stays on by itself so you don't have to clench your teeth together to prevent it from
falling out. It would make breathing(something I strongly encourage my patients to do regularly) and
drinking from a waterbottle easy compared to the other types. Len Diamond

Billy wrote:

> There is always the potential to fall/wipe-out in spectacular ways while mountain biking. I've
> been thinking lately, whether I should wear a mouth guard, while mountain biking. I'm talking
> about those ones that fit in your mouth that go around your teeth, like the hockey players use.
>
> Do the pro mountain bikers ever use protective equipment like that? I guess it might get in
> the way of breathing and drinking. Anybody ever had an accident knocking out teeth or biting
> their tongue?
>
> Just thought I'd get some ideas and start some discussion. Bill.

 

[Brink]

I am also a dentist. I have used a professional mouthguard for years playing basketball. I never
take it out and i play at very aerobic level. You can easily bike with a dentist fabricated mouth
guard. The most common sports related cause of chipped teeth is from biking. The large majority of
these injuries are from children. I do not know how common it is for adults to chip teeth while
biking. I personally do not use a mouth guard for biking, but i really don't think it would restrict
my riding at all. You really just forget that they are in your mouth if properly made. Matt

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> As a road biker, I don't really know the applicability for mtbing, but as a dentist my suggestion
> would be that the one size fits all or boil and bite moutguards are not very effective and
> difficult to use. Most dentists

I used the boil-to-fit mouthguards for football for many years, and never had a problem getting
them to stay in place, and I never had any problem talking intelligebly (sp?) or drinking water
with it in.

....

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.