Field Hockey Mouthguard Care
Who hasn’t cringed watching LeBron James passionately chew on his mouth guard? Let’s face it: in and out of your mouth througout the game, your mouthguard can get pretty gross. In fact, when it comes to conventional guards, the mouth guard is the most bacteria carrying piece of sports equipment you own!
Perhaps you don’t think too much about the amount of dirt and germs that accumulate on your guards during practices, games, or simply storage. After afew weeks in your bag, the guards start to turn dusky and smell. After regular practices or games, there is a ton of bacteria on those bulky, uncomfortable guards because players take them out with dirty hands.
Of course your hands are dirty! You are playing with people, outside – touching the ground, a ball or a stick; or playing indoors – handling equipment, passing the ball. And with those hands you reach into your mouth and take out the guard to shout across the field to your teammates, then shove the disgusting, germ infested thing back in your mouth.
Of couse you know your Sisu™ guard is very different. The perfect fitting and the fact that it is thin and comfortable, means that you don’t have to take out the guard when you play. Since you can drink and talk with a Sisu™ guard in your mouth, there is no need to take it out during the game at all.
But even the best mouth guard needs some TLC. So, here are some guard care DOs and DON’Ts.
DO:
• Clean your hands before you touch the guard
• Clean your guard with toothpaste and water after each game
• Let the guard dry before storing it in a container or a ziplock
• For a quick rinse, use anti-bacterial solution or mouth wash
DON’T:
• Soak your guard in mouthwash or abrasive chemicals
• Drink anything besides water during the game, it may stain the guard
• Smoke using your guard (yeah, that happened!)
• Forget to take it out of your mouth after the game, especially for dinner
When it comes to cleaning and care, a little common sense goes a long way. If you are unsure, err on the side of causion or pick up the phone and we’ll walk you through the moral dillema of the next crazy thing you want to attempt doing with your guard in place.
– Your SISU Team
