How to Expand My Mouth Guard

In most sports that involve frequent physical contact, a fitted mouth guard is used by the participants to protect their teeth from being broken. Sports such as football and boxing especially need this protection, as they involve frequent hard blows to the head and mouth. A boil-and-bite mouth guard should be fitted properly to expand over and around the teeth to adequately protect them from injury. This is a fairly easy process that can be accomplished in a few minutes.

Things You'll Need

  • Mouth guard
  • Scissors
  • Cooking pot
  • Water
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fill the pot with water up to at least 2 inches. Place the pot on the stove, turn on the burner, and bring the water to a rapid boil. Put the mouth guard in your mouth fitted over your top teeth, and make sure it fits properly. Cut it down to size with the scissors if needed to make sure it does not cut into your gums or reach too far back into your mouth. Cut off any sharp angles and verify that it fits your mouth.

    • 2

      Place the mouth guard in the water and let it soak in the boiling water for a few minutes to soften the guard. Pull the guard out of the water and let it cool slightly before proceeding.

    • 3

      Place the mouth guard in your mouth and firmly clamp down onto the guard with your jaw. Let your teeth sink into the guard's softened material and form around your teeth. The guard should expand around the the teeth and give them a nice tight fit to protect them.

    • 4

      Pull the guard out of your mouth and let it cool by running cool water from the faucet over it to set the soft material back into its harder, protective state. The mouth guard should now be ready to use.