title: Thickness and fit of mouthguard according to changing the holding conditions and the heating conditions of the mouthguard sheet.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the difference of the thickness and fit of the mouthguard sheet according to the holding conditions and the heating conditions. The material used in this study was Sports Mouthguard (3.8 mm thickness). Two holding conditions of the sheet were undertaken: One was the condition that the sheet was held all around the periphery, and the other was that the sheet was held at only four points. The sheets were formed using a vacuum former when the sheets were heated until they hung 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 cm from the baseline. We measured the thickness of the mouthguard and calculated the ratio of changes. The fit of the mouthguard was also investigated. The differences of the ratio of changes in the thickness and the fit according to the holding conditions, heating conditions, and measurement areas were analyzed by three-way anova. The results showed that the thickness differed significantly among the holding conditions, heating conditions, and measurement areas (P < 0.01). The condition that the sheet was held at only four points could maintain the thickness especially on the heating condition set at a hanging distance of 4.0 cm. The fit of the sheet differed among the heating conditions and measurement areas (P < 0.01), but not by the holding conditions. The thickness of the sheet could be maintained by holding the sheet only at four points without being inferior to the sheet held all around the periphery in the fit, and this result could be useful on fabricating proper mouthguard.
authors.affiliation: Department of Removable Prosthodontics, The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Niigata, Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mizuhashi
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000379:methods*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008446:Maxillofacial Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D009064:Mouth Protectors; D019876:Sports Equipment
keywords: fit; heating condition; holding condition; mouthguard; thickness