Bryan

I seem to be the only kid on the block who's got a problem with mouth guards. I gag everytime I put one in my mouth. I've always been one of the guys who breathes through his mouth during fights and training. So breathing through my nose is a bit unnatural for me and against my basic instinct...

Does anyone else have any tips, or any similar problems?

Tyler

Hmm.. I've never had a problem... are you by any chance using an extremely cheap mouthguard that (I dunno...) may actually not have breathing holes, which help you to breathe better?

In any case, you should practice breathing through your nose during the day (that is, if you normally do this during the day as well) as it's a lot healthier and a good habit to break/change.

Bryan

Well, I breathe through the nose like everyone else. But when I am training or fighting, It's difficult for me to breath in enough air through the nose. Not sure, maybe I'm out of shape a little, or I'm just not breathing correctly, but during any activity I'll breathe out through the mouth...

The mouthguard was relatively cheap. Wasn't aware that there were upper class or expensive mouth guards. I just have a nice $3.00 or $5.00 mouth guard from my local sports store. It does have a game in between and does have room for me to breathe, but I don't find the gap to be big enough for me. Maybe this is the problem?

I'm more or less struggling with the whole gagging thing and keeping it in my mouth...

kickboxerkid

I remember when I first started full contact martial arts. I purchased a "koshima" mouldable mouth guard.

To shape it I had to put it in a pan of boiling hot water, take it out and then bite down on it.

This worked well for a while, but I found that the more I used it the more uncomfortable it got. That's when I went to my local dentist and inquired about having one professionally moulded. It wasn't cheap but it fit perfectly well.

Bryan

How much did it cost you to get one professionally molded? This may be something I might have to look into in the near future.

I'm going to go ahead and see if I can find a mouth guard with a bigger breathing hole...I still can't seem to breathe correctly out of the mouthguard.

kickboxerkid

The figure I seem to remember was £120 (roughly $230) to have it moulded and produced.

Like I said it wasn't cheap but it received a lot of use and was really comfortable.

TsuaSai

I have also seen some nice guard in the $30 to $60 range as well. They are not a custom mold. But I hear good things around them.

Falian

First off make sure that you invest in a good mouth gaurd with breathing holes. You also need to make sure you are molding the piece, if not it can be very uncomfortable.

Also, as a fighter, you should try breathing through the nose. It helps keep yourself controlled.

Falian

For the Breathing Technique, an easy transisition is In through the Nose, out through the mouth. Breathing out of the Nose is not effective.

sparky

That is VERY expensive for a mouth guard! blimey! I got a cheap one for £6 from a sports store by me and never had a problem with it I feel quite lucky now