Where does one find them?
For example: andrea arlofski has the fangs and Randy Cotoure has the "USA" prints and I know there are are a whole bunch more diff kinds out there, so I am just curious if any one knows like which comps. make them or how to get in touch with them, pricing and what not?
Thanx in advance,
~Cagefighter
ttt
I haven't done my offical review, but I just got through the ordering process for my Gladiator mouthguard. The whole process took less then two weeks and the mouth guard fits awesome. Customer service and response time was awesome and now when i Want a new mouthguard they are half price cause I already have a mold made of my teeth.
customguards.com
You might want to check with your dentist. Mine was able to get one for me.
I tried both my dentist and oral surgeon and neither knew anything about custom mouthguards!
I will check out the above sites as well.
Thanks
If anyone gets a mouthpiece from a doctor, local company, etc. just make sure the company makes a 'pressure guard' and not a 'vacuum guard'.
Anyways, companies that have come well reviewed:
UK - http://www.sportsgumshields.co.uk/
Canada - www.smartguards.ca
US - http://www.protechmouthguards.com/
US - http://www.customguards.com/
IMO, smartguards has the cleanest and best looking graphics that I've seen on mouthguards. They're all well reviewed, and the general range on mouthguards depending on the model ranges from 60-130 or so.
I've seen Protech mentioned and worn by more UFC fighters than the other brands, but they also have had some complaints on slow turnaround for getting out the mouthguards to customers.
Protech has also been developing a special DIY model that is going to fill the gap in the market between BnB's and custom mouthguards. Last I heard from him, he was aiming for February, but that estimate is at least a month old.
Protech and Smartguards both have reps on the Sherdog G&E forum. Paul from Gladiator used to post there but was banned, I believe they have a salesman that posts there on occassion though.
I just tried the Fight Dentist link and it worked for me...
cagefighter send me an email with your info and fight record
howardROTR@hotmail.com
i'll see if i can get you a good mouthguard
we make BJ Penn's mouthguard, Barrett Yoshida, Eben Kaneshiro, Joe Camacho, a lot of Hawaii fighters.
The one you see Randy wearing was made by BOTH Joe Rice and Tom when they were at Bitememouthguards.
Now both have separate companies.
Just send me a line and i'll help you out.
aloha
Gladiator sends a nice kit to your house and get's the finished product back to you in a week or so. Nick Thompson has the very nice "Redneck Teeth" design on his.
Yeah, supposedly Protech has gone south with it's customer service. On Sherdog, there's a whole thread devoted to Protech horror stories.
^ Yeah, they just aren't meeting the delivery times that they advertise, and they haven't done anything to fix that. Tom used to be on the Sherdog forums regularly but has barely been on over the past month. I don't know if there is a correlation between his absence and the slow production of mouthguards over the same period, but here's to hoping that Tom is alright and the company will get their shit in order.
They still produce an excellent product if any customers are willing to wait, but the turnaround time is much more like 1-2 months than 4 weeks or less.
Im relatively new to the training aspect of the sport but been a fan for a while, i know its best to get the custom mouthgaurds but how big is the difference between a football mouthgaurd and an mma mouthgaurd they are both high contact sports, right?
gladiator! like others have said, customer service is top notch, the mouthpiece fits perfectly, and you can get custom designs for free.
TheOne, here is a site that has some background info on mouthpieces:
http://www.animated-teeth.com/mouthguards/a2-mouth-guards-characteristics.htm
Don't forget to check out the extra links on the right, such as their breakdown on the differences between custom, stock, and BnB mouthguards.
For an amateur, there are still positive benefits to buying a custom mouthguard if you can afford it. They are formed directly around your teeth and up to your gums, so while they may still be 'bulky' it's not the same 'rigid' bulkiness w/ the plastic sticking out into your gums/cheeks. Custom mouthguards can stay on your teeth when you open your mouth, that's how tightly fit they are, so it makes breathing easier. Not to mention the benefits of protection, which are certainly much better than a BnB/stock type mouthguard.
I don't know exactly what you mean by a 'football mouthguard'. If you mean the type that are designed to attach to a facemask or chin strap, they would probably fall under the stock category (or maybe they've designed them to be BnB's as well, I'm not sure). They are essentially nothing more than a soft plastic to keep your teeth from gnashing each other and a little bit of protection if you take a direct hit. Any design for protection would be more about providing some simple and small amount of shock absorption. In football you don't necessarily take direct hits to your jaw or teeth, so they're not designed to hold your teeth together and share/spread the shock absorption.
Custom mouthguards are not only made of better materials that provide greater protection, but protect all around your teeth, and your gums. They provide greater protection in the thickness of the guard, and in the thickness of the bite impression, which is essential to a comfortable hold and shock.
In terms of practicality, a good custom mouthguard can easily last you 2 years, maybe 3. Depending on the model of BnB's you might be using and how much wear and tear you give them, it's possible that you won't even save that much money by using the cheaper option.
Thanks to all for the info.
Since my fight name is: "The Anaconda"
I would like to go with something in this desighn idea but need some ideas from the comp.
Thanx again to all.
Ps any idea how long a custom one will last before having to replace?
Cagefighter
I've had numerous Protech guards and they are top notch but unless you are a big name fighter you will be SOL - their customer service is complete BS. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone for that reason alone. Tom will flat out lie about sending stuff out and has given me, as well as training partners, the same line of BS at different times.
Gladiators are superb guards and their customer service is second to none. They are what I use now exclusively.
As to how long guards last. It all depends on how you treat them. I end up biting through them in about 3-6 months (depending on how much I spar) but some of my training partners have had theirs for a year or more.
I was going to go with gladiator, because of how well reviewed they were on this forum, but when I emailed them about doing a custom design they failed to ever return my emails. So, I went with protech. It took about two and a half months to get my mouthguard from protech.
Gladiator