Mouth piece

How many of you use a mouth piece (like in football) when you race?

I always wore one playing football but hadn't thought about wearing one on the track till a fellow instructor mentioned it at Barber a few months ago. He said he never rides on the track without one.

Obviously you need one for football because of the steady blows to the head. But what makes them beneficial in football should make them beneficial in a wreck on a bike.

Right?

 

word is it helps reduce the chance of a concussion...

 

My son has started wearing one because he has had a few concussions already (some before and a couple more since starting road racing). It's one of those "insurance" things I guess (kinda like the chest protector that he has also started wearing since his last 'incident'). I thought it kinda funny this last weekend at Infineon when one of his buddies, after first seeing the mouth guard, asked if it helped. Well, we don't know yet (and we'll never know 'precisely' what gear might have helped in any situation). In my mind, if there are proven benefits to wearing any type of protective gear, that alone is enough to warrant using it just to increase your odds against the unthinkable. :up:

 

I've used one for a couple of seasons on the track. I started using one in the dirt quite a while ago because I always seem to smack my jaw when I low side.

 

I do.:up: when i get to ride

 

I'm thinking about getting this one. Seems interesting.
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/accessories/&?eid=Portal|Mouthwear|ShopAccessories|Banner

 

I tried. I can't get over the gag reflex as well as the "ugh, this thing has been sitting in my nasty-ass trailer for three weeks" bit either.

 

I was wearing one when I highsided 45-55mph head hit the ground first. Wearing a Suomy Spec1R... ended up doing pretty well. Had a head ache for a couple days but could have been alot worse.

 

i do..!

 

I wear one and knocked 4 seconds off my lap time

My dad had a nasty crash that broke his jaw and chipped some of his teeth, so now he never rides on the track without one

 

I'm trying to get myself into the habit of riding with one. I have an issue with the gag reflect though but I see the importance so much that I keep trying.

 

I'm a track day guy and have worn one since first seeing a tv special on concussions and how they can be avoided by use of a mouthguard. The medical and scientifuc evidence is quite compelling and makes it kind of a no brainer. Take a look at the Everlast (boxing) mouth guard the covers top and bottom teeth with an air channel in between. Got mine at Sports Authority for about $5. Only downside I notice is when I talk to myself inside the helmet the words are a little garbled and I have no idea what I'm saying to myself. Wish I knew what I was talking about or missing?

 

I guess I'm missing something, why would a mouth gaurd cause a gag reflex issue?

 

For me it is the rear of the mouth guard and how it presses against my tongue. It causes me to want to gag and puke (humm...new weight loss method...just call it the Stoner method? )

 

Thanks for the replies, i bought one at walmart and im going to mold it today and start wearing it.

As far as the gag reflex, when i played football i used to trim the back of it. I made it shorter (the last/back tooth on each side wasn't in the mouth piece) and it helped.

 

Since I'm too lazy to do the research, how does a mouth piece prevent concussions?

 

Chris,
Im so glad you made this post about mouth pieces. Ive been wanting to throw it out there for some time because Ive had the same thoughts about them. Im gonna grab one and start wearing it from now on. They seem to make perfect sense to me.

 

Its been discussed on here before. I bought a shock doc (http://www.shockdoc.com/mouthguards.html) mouth guard that was recommended here. I wore it a few times and just never gave it a chance. It's uncomfortable at first...I'm sure you get used to it.

 

Some interesting stuff about mouthpieces...

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba.../with_mouthpiece_dentist_tackles_concussions/

http://www.mahercorlabs.com/mouthguard.htm

The Level 1 and Level 3 guard looks like what would help us. As with the Armourbite thingy they aren't cheap.

Chad

 

Mouthpiece

I have been wearing one for two seasons now.

The cons:
1. Make sure that you smooth down the surface that rubs against the inside of your cheeks. I had one that would wear a groove in my cheek. That's all the cons.

The pros:

1. Reduces the chance of concussion.
2. Forces me to breathe through my nose. I was having trouble with dry throat during races. Now I can do 1hr endurance stint with no water.
3. Reduces the chance of concussion.

I just had a big off a few months ago and feel I might have been in the red and white van if I hadn't had my mouthpiece in.

I told my dentist that I was using the boil and bite style and he immediately made me two from his professional material that the NBA uses. He claims that the poly in the pro version reduces vibration more than boil and bite. He only charged me 15ish for each.

Can't ride with out it.