title: Shock absorption ability of mouthguard against forceful, traumatic mandibular closure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The positive effects of wearing a mouthguard on shock absorption have been indicated in various papers. The ability of a mouthguard to protect against indirect injury, however, is not clear, and the thickness that a mouthguard would require to provide such protection remains to be determined. The primary aim of this study was to clarify the shock absorption potential of a mouthguard against forced, traumatic occlusion. The secondary objective was to compare the shock absorption ability of different thicknesses of mouthguard against this type of trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  An artificial skull (ZA20; 3B Scientific International, Co. Ltd, Niigata, Japan) with two-axis strain gages applied to the right buccal aspect of the mandible and the mandibular and maxillary teeth was used to measure shock absorption ability. Three different thicknesses of EVA mouthguard (1, 2, and 3 mm at the first molar) were tested.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Within the limitations of this laboratory study, the following results were obtained: the results showed that increasing the thickness of the mouthguard improved its shock absorption ability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Dentistry, Tokyo Dental College, Kyung Hee University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishigami
authors.forename: Keishiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Narimatsu
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Kwantae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noh
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible; D011482:Protective Devices; D018677:Tooth Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: mandibular; mouthguard; shock absorption ability; strain; tooth; traumatic mandibular closure