Despite being a necessity in some shape or form, the quality and how much you pay for a gum shield is completely up to the individual. So it begs the question: What is the best Rugby Mouthguard? Amazon do cheap bundle packs for your average boil and bite piece of plastic. The moulding process is relatively pain free unless you have sensitive teeth or a bad gag reflex. These would be advised for anyone maybe starting out and giving rugby a try (pardon the pun).

If this is you, read no further, there’s not much point investing a lot of money into something that you’re not sure you’ll pursue or keep up if a cheap option exists.

However, if you know you’ll be playing the sport for at least a year, not investing in something more well-fitted and comfortable is ludicrous. The mouthguard is the one mandatory piece of safety equipment for rugby. So it’s undoubtedly worth spending some more money on it if you’re going to have it In your mouth 3 times a week for 6 months every year.

What separates a good quality mouth guard from a cheap mouthguard:

• You can still talk and be understood with mouthguard in.
• You aren’t gagging from the long excess bits of plastic on the end of a boil and bite.
• It’s thinner – Your lips don’t look permanently puffy
• It’ll last longer Teeth indentations mean it won’t constantly fall out as soon as you open your mouth
• Despite covering a wide spectrum of teeth Boil & bite’s can’t cater to all shapes of mouths and jaws. A One size fits all, won’t fit a u10 jaw as it will a 40 y/o veteran who lost his.

A good quality mouthguard doesn’t come cheap but divided by: the number of countless times you will wear it to train and play, times by all the years you will play for, it’s easily worth it – get one sooner rather than later.

TIP: For those due to get braces or retainers off, mould your mouthguard ASAP after removal. That way it’ll be the perfect mould of your straightest teeth.

So what’s the best mouthguard company on the market? Aside from what some orthodontists may be able to offer, OPRO have somewhat monopolised the mouthguard business. The premium OPRO mouthguard comes in a range of designs and once ordered, a putty is delivered to your door where you can create a mould before sending it back off to OPRO, where they create your custom mouthguard.

Premium Option (Custom OPRO) £30

UK: Opro UK Custom Pro Gum Shield

US: Opro US Custom Pro Gum Shield 

 

The Custom OPRO Mouthguard, as explained above, includes two putties to create your mould as well as a temporary Boil and Bite OPRO gum shield. Another big advantage of the Custom choice is the availability in design options. The design is chosen upon sending back the putty to OPRO with pamphlets showing possible options.

ADVANTAGES: comfort, fit, able to speak with it in, looks natural, doesn’t fall out, lasts for life.

DISADVANTAGES: more costly.

It’s worth remembering that a gumshield is an investment in health and safety. With concussions and safety in rugby becoming a hot topic, mouthguards are proving to be the number one protector: as most are caused by the teeth and jaw crunching together suddenly. A quality mouthguard cushions the impact, reducing the chance of concussion.

The Final result of the Custom mouthguard looks something similar to the image (Left). Clear teeth indentations and an accurate jaw replica which isn’t too long at the back to avoid that horrible gagging feeling.

Cheaper Option (£5ish)

UK : Affordable Optimum Matrix Mouth Guard

US: Opro Affordable ‘Boil & Bite’ Mouth Guard

Another great option is a standard, multipurpose bite and boil mouthguard.

However, it’s the most suitable choice for kids who are currently wearing braces in a bit of an awkward period.

ADVANTAGES: They fill their purpose, work well and do their job, variety of colours, quick, no hassle, good for short term players, inexpensive, replaceable.

DISADVANTAGES: Less comfortable, won’t last for life, give a pursed lips look, can fall out if not moulded well, thicker plastic usually.

Generally, the image (Left) shows the kind of fit that can be obtained from a boil and bite mouthguard. On occasion, slight teeth indentations can be made but on the whole, usually they only fit the shape of the jaw.

 

 

 

Middle Ground Option (£15ish)

UK: Opro UK Mid-tier rugby mouthguard

US: Opro US Mid-tier rugby mouthguard

 

 

On the whole, the middle ground option accommodates well for most people. It’s still a boil and bite but the plastic ‘fins’ boil down to create some form of teeth indentation. OPRO actually do a Gold Silver and Bronze level, all available on amazon and obviously vary respectively in quality.

The main advantage to this Gold Standard OPRO Boil & Bite is that it’s cheaper than the custom fit, whilst still fitting the shape of your teeth. The main disadvantage is that like all boil and bite’s, the hot water can change the teeth but it still doesn’t solve the one size fits all for different jaw sizes.

The image below shows the kind of fitting that the middle ground option can give. Having said that, having personally tried all three, I would say that the image below is slightly optimistic in it’s fitting image. Being someone quite fussy, I invested in a custom fit, £30 OPRO mouthguard 5 years ago and have been using it since.