Mouthguard Day Date in the current year: September 7, 2026

A mouthguard is a protective device that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and reduce injuries to the teeth, gums, and jaw joints. Although mouthguards are primarily associated with contact sports, they can also be used to treat bruxism (teeth grinding or jaw clenching), sleep apnea, and temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). They are also used in dental aesthetics and orthodontics. Of course, all these types of mouthguards all differ from each other.

Mouthguard Day is dedicated specifically to athletic mouthguards that are used in a wide range of sports where traumatic impacts to the face and jaw are common. These sports include association football (soccer), American football, Australian football, baseball, basketball, boxing, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, mixed martial arts, rugby, water polo, wrestling, and many others. Although many of the sports that require mouthguards are contact sports, this is not a prerequisite. For instance, mouthguards are used in skiing and snowboarding because of the high risk of injury.

The exact origin of mouthguards isn’t well documented, but there is a general consensus that they originated in boxing. Initially, boxers used materials like cotton or sponges to protect their teeth, clenching a piece between their teeth. However, these “proto-mouthguards” were not particularly effective, as it is difficult to box and remember to clench one’s teeth at the same time.

British dentist Woolf Krause is credited with inventing the first boxing mouthguard in 1892. These single-use devices consisted of strips of gutta-percha, a natural resin. Krause’s son, Philip, is often credited with inventing reusable mouthguards sometime in the early 20th century. However, other dentists also made mouthguards around the same time, suggesting that the device was independently invented by several people.

American dentist Rodney O. Lilyquist is considered the inventor of the modern mouthguard. In 1947, he created a mouthguard made of transparent acrylic resin that could be molded to fit unobtrusively over an athlete’s teeth while allowing them to speak. His invention received nationwide recognition almost immediately.

Since then, mouthguards have become standard equipment in many sports, dramatically reducing the number of dental injuries. For example, the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends using mouthguards in 12 contact or collision sports and in 17 limited-contact or other sports. The 12 categories include broad groups such as combat sports and martial arts, which encompass numerous individual sports not listed separately by the ADA.

Mouthguard Day was launched in 2018 by OPRO Mouthguards, a family-owned British company that specializes in sports mouthguard protection. The first Monday in September was chosen as the date to coincide with the start of the school year and school/collegiate sports season. The holiday’s main goal is to raise awareness of the importance of high-quality, custom-fitted mouthguards in sports.