Towards the development of a standard test procedure for mouthguard assessment.

A simulated upper jaw, made from a rubber arch containing replaceable ceramic teeth and a renewable composite jawbone, offers promise in assessing the performance of custom made mouthguard designs. Impact tests, involving precise assessment of jaw and tooth fractures caused by projectiles of various energies and profiles, simulate conditions that approximate to common clinical observation. Such conditions offer the most sensitive indices for assessing both improved mouthguard designs and product quality and reliability. Damage caused by the dissipation of the impact energy may be transferred within this simulated oral cavity by minor changes to the impact conditions.