The honest answer from science – and why the design of a mouthguard is still crucial.

The Guard – Trusted Knowledge on Sports Protection

A question that comes up again and again

Whether in ice hockey, floorball, rugby, American football, or other contact sports – everywhere where high speeds, intense one-on-one matches, and hard collisions are part of the sport, the same question comes up: Can an athletic mouthguard or mouth protection also protect against a concussion during a head impact?

Can a mouthguard prevent a concussion?

The honest answer is: Based on current scientific knowledge, there is no clear evidence that a mouthguard can reliably prevent a concussion.

However, one distinction is crucial:

“Not clearly proven” does not automatically mean “no effect”.

Because if we cannot clearly say that a mouthguard prevents concussions, another equally important question arises:

How does a mouthguard handle the forces that occur during an impact?

What happens during a concussion?

A concussion – often called a concussion in international sports – occurs when the head is rapidly accelerated, decelerated, or rotated. The brain moves inside the skull and is stressed by the resulting acceleration and rotational forces.

Whether a concussion develops depends on many factors: the force and direction of the impact, the rotational movement of the head, and the individual physical conditions of the athlete.

That is why a concussion cannot be reduced to a single influencing factor or a specific threshold.

What does science say?

Scientific research has been examining the possible role of athletic mouthguards in concussions for years. To date, there is no clear scientific consensus that a mouthguard can prevent a concussion.

However, this does not mean that a mouthguard cannot have an effect on the forces experienced during an impact.

Recent studies provide interesting findings on this. In a 2025 study with soccer players, the measured maximum linear head acceleration during standardized headers was significantly lower with a custom-fitted, made-to-measure mouthguard than without a mouthguard (Pitteu et al., 2025).

Whether such a reduction in a specific case is enough to prevent a concussion cannot be derived from this. A concussion is too complex to be defined solely by a single measurement value.

However, another point is crucial for us:

If a protective system can help reduce the stress experienced during an impact, that is already a relevant advantage – even if it cannot be concluded that it prevents a concussion.

What is also well-documented is the protective effect of an athletic mouthguard on teeth and the mouth area. It can reduce the risk of tooth injuries as well as injuries to the lips, cheeks, and tongue, making it part of personal protective equipment in many contact sports.

Why design is still important

Every head impact generates forces. These impact forces do not disappear – they are absorbed, distributed, and transmitted.

From a technical perspective, a crucial question arises:

How can these forces be absorbed and distributed as controllably as possible?

We have been addressing exactly this question in the development of our mouthguards for years.

It quickly became clear: Material thickness alone cannot be the only solution. Just as crucial are the fit, the internal structure of the mouthguard, and the surface area over which the generated forces are distributed.

Precise fit as the foundation

A mouthguard can only fulfill its function optimally if it fits exactly on the teeth.

Gaps between the tooth and the mouthguard allow movement during an impact. In contrast, a precise fit creates a direct connection between the mouthguard and the teeth, forming the basis for as controlled a force transmission as possible.

That is why we manufacture our mouthguards individually based on a high-precision 3D intraoral scan. The custom-made mouthguard fits gap-free against the tooth surfaces and between the teeth.

This fit not only ensures secure retention and high wearing comfort – it is a central component of our protection concept.

Absorb energy controllably

In many technical protection systems, the goal is not to stop energy entirely. What matters is how it is absorbed and distributed.

A well-known example is a car's crumple zone. It does not prevent the impact. Its design was instead developed to absorb part of the generated energy in a controlled manner.

This core idea also influenced our development.

The internal honeycomb structure of our mouthguards was developed to absorb and distribute impact energy in a controlled manner.

The honeycomb structure creates areas within the mouthguard that can deform under stress. This is intended to absorb part of the generated energy within the structure, rather than transmitting it directly as much as possible.

Distribute forces across multiple teeth

In addition to energy absorption, the distribution of forces also plays a crucial role.

When a high force acts on a small area, high local stress is created there. However, if the same force can be distributed over a larger surface area and multiple teeth, the stress per unit area is reduced.

That is exactly why the gap-free fit is so important for our concept: it allows multiple teeth to be included in force distribution.

The larger the surface area over which a force can be distributed, the lower the local stress can be.

Comparison: Gaps and localized stress vs. gap-free fit and surface-based force distribution.

Three principles – one shared goal

The development of our mouthguards is therefore not based on a single feature. It combines three design principles that arose directly from the challenges described above:

Gap-Free Fit™

A gap-free fit between the mouthguard and teeth creates the foundation for transferring generated forces as directly and controllably as possible into the entire structure.

Honeycomb Shock-Absorption Technology™

The internal honeycomb structure was developed to absorb and distribute impact energy in a controlled manner.

Impact Force Distribution™

The precise fit and large-surface support were developed to avoid concentrating generated forces locally on a single tooth, but to distribute them as much as possible across multiple teeth.

Fit, energy absorption, and force distribution together form the design protection concept of our mouthguards.

Conclusion

Based on current scientific knowledge, it is not clearly proven that a mouthguard can prevent a concussion. However, studies show that custom-fitted athletic mouthguards can reduce measured head acceleration under certain conditions.

Our development therefore focuses on three central principles: gap-free fit, controlled absorption of impact energy, and large-surface force distribution across multiple teeth.

Our goal is clear: To absorb and distribute the forces generated during a head impact as controllably as possible, and reduce the resulting stress as much as technically possible.

The Guard

Trusted Knowledge on Sports Protection

We want to share knowledge, not spread myths. That is why The Guard addresses questions that actually concern athletes, coaches, and professionals – scientifically based, clearly explained, and linked to the experiences from our daily work in sports.

Source

Pitteu, C., Lepère, P., Poisson, P., Guillaud, E., Doat, E., Glize, B., Dehail, P., & Cassoudesalle, H. (2025). A custom-made mouthguard reduces head acceleration during soccer heading and prevents acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes in amateur male players. EBioMedicine, 115, 105674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105674