Properties of athletic mouth protectors and materials.
The properties of a variety of mouth protectors and sheet materials used to fabricate custom mouth protectors were determined in order to recommend limits for a specification. Hardness, water sorption, water solubility, impact absorption, and tear strength were measured, and limits for these properties were suggested.
The effect on energy absorption of hard inserts in laminated EVA mouthguards.
One of the suggestions for using laminated mouthguards is the inclusion of hard inserts to improve mouthguard performance. However, there is a paucity of published material on the use of such inserts and this study was designed to investigate this theory. Hard layers of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) were included in laminated mouthguard sheets which were then subject to repeated impacts with an impact rig. Hard inserts resulted in reduced energy absorption when compared with a control sheet of the same material and approximate thickness but without the hard inserts. Additionally, the further the hard inserts were located from the impact surface, the least reduction there was on energy absorption.
Mouthguard materials: their physical and mechanical properties.
Physical and mechanical tests were used to determine the properties of 57 different mouthguard materials. Finding or fabricating a mouthguard material that is durable, protective and stable, inexpensive enough to be available to all sports enthusiasts, and simple enough in design and delivery to make it disposable is the challenge that underlies this study. Physical and mechanical tests were used to learn the basic properties of 57 different mouthguard products. The results from these measurements may be helpful as a guide for establishing material standards and specifications for the fabrication of mouth protectors.