Mouthguards - OPRO vs dentist vs Amazon or similar

[Madcats]

I've not been near a hockey pitch for several decades, so haven't ever thought about mouthguards and the logistics of coping with baby/adult teeth.

DD's junior school requires a medium-weight (Hi impact) mouthguard which OPRO will do at school for a mere £47.85 or I can organise one for ourselves.

DD (6) has only lost 2 baby teeth (and she has 4 back teeth coming through). Sods law, she'll lose her front top teeth within a week or so of the wretched fitting (or her back teeth will grow much bigger).

Does this mean I'll need to buy a new gumshield every few months or so?

I reckoned Mumsnet would be the best place to ask.

[scaevola]

A fully fitted mouthguard does offer the best protection. But as junior school children are shedding and growing teeth, it won't stay at that level of fit.

Boil and bite (eg the OPRO you buy from sports shops) offer a good fit and protection level and can be reboiled and refitted a couple of times too.

We decided to go for boil and bite until dentition settled down in the teen years.

[whoops]

At 6 dd wont be playing a high level of hockey so a boio and bite would be the best way to go as at their teeth are still falling out and new ones coming through. I would do this through school unless she starts playing for the senior school team or a club team.

I know many adult players that still only buy the boil and bite as the are one of the pieces of kit they lose regularly!

[Heifer]

agree with Whoops and others. Boil and Bite ones from Sports Direct are very good value and are plenty good enough.

DD will get a decent one once teeth have settled but that's because she wants a "cool" design so will have to pay more for that .

Def wouldn't spend £47 on one before she was at secondary school and baby teeth all out.

[Nocomet]

Will it actually ever be worn?
DDs are in the draw somewhere!

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

Boil and bite us the way to go at least in the early days. And as mum to two teenage DC who play at a high level (ulster/Ireland), I'd insist that they wear it from day 1 so that it becomes as natural as putting on a seat belt in a car. My DDs school/team were very tight on this and she always wears one. My DSs sch/team were less insistent and he's had a few near misses though thankfully the fit girls on the touch line now means that he's more protective of his looks!! Even wears a face guard at penalty corners now!! Hockey is brutal! The ball and sticks are hard! And they move quickly! And-unlike in my day when it was all played on the ground like croquet!- the ball and sticks are HIGH as well as fast!

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

I was advised by our dentist that a professionally fitted guard is actually worse than a series of boil and bite guards before the jaw and teeth stop growing.
Every three months or so we buy a new guard which costs about £10 (we use ShockDoctor) so we know that it is as well fitted as possible.
DS wears one all the time at club practise (they are not allowed on the pitch without one) and having seen accidents on the pitch he also wears one at school. It amazes me that he is the only one who does, particularly when it is part of the kit list

[LIZS]

Having had opro for eons we have now gone for Shockdoctor as they can be remoulded every few months

[Heifer]

its shockdoctor we get from Sports direct...
DDs is yr 5 and isn't allowed to take part in training games without her gum shield at school.. She leaves it in the hockey stick bag so is never without.

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

I think most of ours have berm shock doctor. They are meant to live in the hockey bag but must often get tucked into a sock at the end of match! I can vouch for the fact that they wash an tumble dry beautifully! And if they weren't left in the sock, they wouldn't taste soapy!!!! (We usually have more than one for each DC "on the go" -my kids train/play up to 10 sessions a week between school/club etc. One each wouldn't be enough in season! (Though if they lived in the hockey bag-it might be!!!)

[happygardening]

Our old prep was always trying to flog us those dentist fitted opro mouth guards which by the time the children have chosen 3 different colours were costing £50+ and that as five - years ago. I was moaning about the cost to a dentist friend and he was frankly stunned that I was wasting my money for children whose mouth/teeth are constantly changing. His DS was a regular and very competent club rugby player he used a boil and bite one I've never bought an expensive fitted one since!

[Freckletoes]

Our school insist on an opro fitted or private dentist fitted mouth guards. We complied at first-but found out that the school don't check the mouth guard at all, they just want to see the child has one. We now have 3 kids at the school and 3 specially made ones was going to be very pricey! Not to mention the fact that they loose them almost monthly! So we stock up on the Opro boil and bite from Sports Direct and will continue to use these until they all leave school.

[Madcats]

Thanks for the comments everybody.
Boil and bite it is!

Annoyingly I was in Sports Direct today (where the bloke tried to explain to me slowly that not all trainers are good on astro-turf).

Sport is all a bit techy these days

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

Have you not entered into the world of hockey shoes and sticks yet?!!! Open your purse and let the contents flow! My DS last stick cost £255!! It was his last stick!!! That I'm buying!! He was sent in search of sponsorship for the next one!!!

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

Have you not entered into the world of hockey shoes and sticks yet?!!! Open your purse and let the contents flow! My DS last stick cost £255!! It was his last stick!!! That I'm buying!! He was sent in search of sponsorship for the next one!!!

[meditrina]

Ordinary trainers are fine on AstroTurf, but ones win AstroTurf prickles are better. You can't wear studs (moulded or metal on it) so the prickles give slightly better grip. But as it's never as slippery as grass, trainers are fine even when it's wet.

And Nowitscleanugobshite congrats. Your DS must be playing at a high level to be into that price bracket for stick.

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

He's a strong player but if truth be known ....he's label obsessed. With everything that he wears/owns!! Only the best will do!!! Hence sending him in search of sponsorship!! Sticks half price! And with the incentive of being free if he makes it to the next level!! The fella who was his school coach for 4 years is full international and now plays professionally so he's been a huge help at sussing out the best deals! If he needs anything hockey related -at all-it's couriered to him within 24hrs wherever he is in the world!! My DS isn't at that level!! Nice though it would be!!

[Madcats]

Whilst DD is sporty, I think the closest she'll ever get to having kit couriered to her next day is when I buy it with Amazon Prime!

[Heifer]

A lot of hockey players have ditched the "astros" in favour of trail running shoes. Good grip, good support but can be used for other sports and other surfaces. DH hasn't used Astros for seasons now and we've just got DD (10) her 1st pair. They can be cheaper and more choice than astros (very fussy DD)...

Sticks can get very pricey I've known DH spend £250 every season in the past.. These days he is less picky (we have less money).

We bought DD a composite stick for £30 which most parents thought was mad as they had bought cheap £10 but DH is a coach and says DD was ready for composite and was happy to pay it. I just hope she doesn't become a GK like me as now that really does cost £££

[MatronMarian]

The one dentist made mouth guard I bought was lost on the first outing, so se have done boil and bite ever since. None of my kids are ever in the thick of any tackles.

[Saracen]

BTW we had lots of trouble with the super cheapest SportsDirect boil and bite mouthguards for about £2 - we bought quite a series of them and just could not get them fitted. Asked various friends and coaches to help, still no luck. We did succeed once, and I think that was a fluke, and then a few months later dd had some new teeth!

Finally bought the slightly pricier SportsDirect ones - about £10 I think - which worked a treat.

[Nowitscleanugobshite]

I'm so glad neither of mine are keepers!! Never mind the cost....it's the smell!! The kits smell like something that has been dead for a long time!! Like 1000 pairs of shin pads!! We often have "Bertha" in the back seat of my corsa when it's our turn for lifts as she doesn't fit in the boot! It takes days for the smell to disperse! My DD is keen to go into sports technology-I reckon if she could invent fragrant shin pads/protective gear I could retire!!
And yes to the trail shoes-they are v popular here-with DD especially. She like her shoes to match her kit! Her brother doesn't care what colour they are-just as long as the price tag is visible to both teams!!!!

[whoops]

I'm a gk and the only way of getting rid of the smell is hanging pads on the washing line and spraying with febreze! Anything without pads can go in the washing machine. It also helps if you air the kits after a match in the rain instead of stuffing it away for the next match/training session.

I personally like my smelly kit as I like to think it helps keep the opposition and ball away from me

[Teddingtonmum1]

Phew thank god I saw this post was just stressing I've spending £50 on a mouth guard my DS will lose probably in the first week. He has a dentist appt in June might be cheeky and buy one from sports direct take it along . How do u know if its going to fit before you buy it ? Am guessing you can't try it in lol. My DS is 11 never bought one before but already had the letter from school about shelling out opro one.

[Teddingtonmum1]

Arghhh I pads on spending !!

[LIZS]

They come in standard sizes, approximated to age. If a child has braces fitted then you need a specific style.