Mouth guard trouble

[Billy Paternoster]

Hey guys I was wondering if any one has any suggestions on to help with gag reflexes when the mouth guard in. I've been trying to keep it in for 5 minutes on 5 minutes off when I use the bike machine when I work out, but it's not helping much. Any thoughts would be great!

[John Alighieri]

Most mouthguards will let you cut the ends of it to make it shorter

[Billy Paternoster]

I did that when I first got it, how short does it have to be?

[John Alighieri]

Depends of people. I think you can go as short as covering your first molar.

[Joe Friday]

sheesh never heard of this problem! what kind of mouth guard do you have?

[AJ Camacho]

I've seen people trim them down to the first molar too. Give it a shot.

[John Alighieri]

sheesh never heard of this problem! what kind of mouth guard do you have?

It's pretty common problem. Not so frequent with custom made mouthguards but the good old boil n bites can cause gag reflexes. They are usually bulkier and go deeper than customs

[Billy Paternoster]

yeah I have the orange and black tapout boil and bite, I have it trimmed down as well, just still seems to give me problems.

[Dwight Roux]

Best to get a custom guard and have it cut off at the end of your first molar. If you can have them trim the palate out a bit it should help the gag reflex as well.

[aeg383]

I've had the same issue with gagging (that's what she said ).

The problem could be that your mouthguard is too dry. One of my instructors keeps his mouthguard in a small tupperware container with a screw top lid, filled with Listerine. He says it helps keep it clean and prevents the mouthguard from drying out. I've had trouble finding the container, so I just drop mine into a small coffee cup with some mouthwash prior to training. Works like a charm.