Do You Need a Mouthguard for Flag Football?

Do You Need a Mouthguard for Flag Football Featured Blog Image

You’re running to catch a pass in your first flag football game of the season, squinting through the rain at your QB. You’re wide open, and you’re ten yards from the endzone. You’ve got this in the bag.

But, slick with rain, the ball slides right through your gloves—and all of a sudden, you’re trying to catch the ball with your face.

So, do you need a mouthguard for flag football? The answer is yes. Otherwise, you could easily become that drenched receiver (or lineman, or QB) once the season starts. And when your grip fails, you need something to protect the merchandise (a.k.a., your pearly whites).

While it may not be as much of a statement-maker as the rest of your football drip, a mouthguard is a must for flag football.

Importance of Wearing a Mouthguard in Flag Football

If you’re like most players, a mouthguard will be the only piece of protective gear you’ll wear during flag football.1 And for good reasons:

Protecting Your Teeth and Gums

First and foremost, football mouthguards protect your teeth and gums. They safeguard your mouth against two key types of damage:

  • Impact – Whether you get hit in the face with the ball, slip on wet turf, or accidentally tumble into a fellow player, you’ll want to protect one of the most sensitive areas of your body from impact: your teeth.
  • Tension – You’re in the huddle talking through your next play. Your heart is racing, your shoulders are tight with excitement, and your jaw is clenched with pre-kickoff jitters. Without a mouthguard, that clenched jaw could lead to tooth and gum damage.2

Simply put, all types of football mouthguards protect your chompers from perfectly normal flag football activities—from mid-play accidents to anxious jaw clenching.

Preventing Jaw Injuries

Flag football isn’t an intentional contact sport. But just because no one’s tackling you doesn’t mean you won’t take a few spills.

When you do hit the turf, one of the possible injuries you’ll want to prevent is jaw dislocation: when one of your lower jaw joints pops out of its proper place.3 Impact is just one possible cause of jaw dislocation, but you can prevent it with a mouthguard.

If your jaw does pop out of its joint, you could be stuck on the bench (and on a liquid diet) until you heal.

Understanding Flag Football

Before we keep talking about the most important piece of flag football gear, let’s touch on some of the basics of flag football (including some common injuries to look out for).

Rules and Physicality

Flag football is pretty similar to standard tackle football with a few exceptions4:

  • The field is shorter—70 yards long instead of 100 yards.
  • There are no fumbles; possession can’t change when a ball hits the ground.
  • Every player (including the QB) can receive a pass.

Of course, there are additional rules that make flag football less physical than tackle football:

  • Flags – Instead of tackling and blocking, players pull off their opponents’ flags. If your flag comes off, the ball is dead.
  • QBs can’t run the ball – QBs can only run the ball in flag football after they pass it off. Before they pass, they can run behind the line of scrimmage but can’t gain yards.
  • No leaps and dives – Flag football players’ feet must stay on the ground; they can’t leap or dive to dodge defenders, but they can spin.
  • Passing and handoffs – All passes must go forward, and players must use direct handoffs instead of lateral passes or pitches.

All of the rules above are designed to prevent tackling-type contact, but they also increase the challenge level, and players have to get more creative to gain yards.

Common Injuries in Flag Football

That said, injuries are still possible. Here are a few common injuries and how to prevent them:

  • Dental injuries – Mouth and tooth injuries are some of the most common across sports—not just in flag football.5 Almost every sport requires players to wear a mouthguard.
  • Bone injuries – Sprains and fractures are also common in flag football, but usually not because of contact between players. Slips and falls (especially on wet fields) are to be expected. Players can avoid this by wearing proper footwear and building their balance and reflexes.
  • Muscle injuries – Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and strains from overuse (in other words, stretching too far or overworking yourself during practices) are common in flag football. Stretching, warming up, and warming down can all help you prevent muscle mishaps during flag football season.

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Benefits of Using a Mouthguard

Mouthguards don’t just protect your million-dollar smile—they offer another way to drip out your kit.

Reducing the Risk of Oral Injuries

Do you need a mouthguard for flag football? Check the stats: they work.6 When they don’t wear a mouthguard, athletes more than double their risk for tooth and jaw injuries.7

Mouthguards protect against impact and tension injuries by:

  • Absorbing force – Whether you’re grinding your teeth or taking a nasty spill, your mouthguard material will absorb some of the force—without one, your teeth absorb that force instead.
  • Distributing force – In addition, mouthguards spread out the force of impacts or tension over a wider surface area, reducing acute wear and tear.

Both of these actions reduce your risk of oral injuries during flag football (and tackle football, if that’s your jam).

Enhancing Performance and Confidence

Mouthguards can also look pretty sick. There’s a design for every player:

  • Intimidating styles – Our Predator and Clown designs are just two examples, but you can use a mouthguard to strike fear into the hearts of your opponents.
  • Drip designs – Chrome plating, like in our Binky Iridescent, and 3D elements, as found in our 3D Jaws style, can tie your whole kit together.
  • Player pride – Flag designs and designs in your team colors will show where your loyalties lay.

Flag football gear doesn’t have to look dusty—the way you dress should match your attitude, even down to your mouthguard. Check out our blog for essential youth flag football gear.

Types of Mouthguards

So, you’re ready to shop for mouthguards—but what are your options?7

Stock Mouthguards

Stock mouthguards are ready-made. This means you don’t have to modify them in any way to complete your kit. They have a few advantages:

  • Price – If you’re ballin’ on a budget, stock mouthguards are your best option.
  • Availability – Stock mouthguards are available just about everywhere, including online.
  • Style – Stock mouthguards feature countless designs—there’s something for everyone.

Plus, since they don’t require boiling and molding, stock mouthguards are perfect for players with braces.

Boil-and Bite-Mouthguards

Boil-and-bite mouthguards are popular among players; they offer a somewhat customizable fit and increased comfort.

That said, boil and bite mouthguards have some limitations:

  • They require prep – Since you have to boil and bite them to make them work properly, you’ll likely devote at least half an hour to prepping your mouthguard before you can use it.
  • They’re a challenge for braces – Boil and bite mouthguards aren’t exactly easy to mold if you have braces. The metal might create sharp edges (or get stuck to the material while it’s still hot). Luckily, specifically designed football mouthguards for braces do exist.

That said, you can still find stylish designs in boil-and-bite mouthguards—like our ultra-shiny Grillz mouthguard.

Custom-Fit Mouthguards

While boil and bite mouthguards offer a pretty custom experience, there are certainly ways to level up protection—with custom-fit mouthguards.

Custom-fit mouthguards are:

  • Professionally molded – To make one, you’ll have to visit a dentist’s office or mold lab to make a cast of your teeth. A manufacturer will use this mold to create a mouthguard that fits your teeth perfectly.
  • Pricey – As you might have guessed, these are the most expensive options for mouthguards. You’ll have to pay for dentist visits, molding, manufacturing, and any adjustments.

Plus, custom-fit mouthguards aren’t always aesthetically customizable. While your dentist may have a few colors to choose from, you’re unlikely to find binkies or fangs in their collection. With Battle Sports’s custom-fit mouthguards, there’s no trip to the dentist needed.

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How to Choose the Right Mouthguard

Of the options above, how should you choose a football mouthguard? While we don’t discourage drip, you should really focus on two features above aesthetics:

Comfort and Fit

Your mouthguard should fit you as comfortably as possible. Designs that scrape against your gums, keep you from breathing normally, or fall out easily could interrupt your play at best and damage your mouth at worst.

In addition, consider whether or not you need your mouthguard to work while your mouth is open—some stock mouthguards only work when your mouth is closed and you’re biting on the wings. If you have a reputation for talking trash or riling up the crowd, you might need a boil and bite design (since many attach to your teeth even when your mouth is open).

Material and Durability

While you might have to trade out your mouthguards every few years as you grow, you still want them to be made of high-quality, durable materials—these offer the best protection.

Essentially, you want your mouthguard material to be:

  • Slightly flexible – Your mouthguard should bend enough to accommodate your bite but not enough to move on impact.
  • Moldable at low temps – While “boil and bite” is a bit of a misleading name (you won’t need to get your mouthguard up to boiling temperatures to bite it), look for mouthguards that require as little heat as possible to mold. Temps in the 150-160° F range are safest.

Learn more about how to choose a football mouthguard in our blog.

Protect Your Smile with Battle Sports Mouthguards

Do you need a mouthguard for flag football? Without a doubt. Mouthguards will keep your teeth and gums safe, and they make a great addition to your uniform (whether you rock your team colors or design your own palette).

Speaking of design, no one is making more stylish mouthguards than Battle Sports. We’re the home of football gear for athletes who work hard and play hard. From football gloves to back plates to turf tape, we’ve got everything you need to start your winning season.

Check out our collection today.

Sources:

  1. NFL Flag. Flag Football Equipment. https://nflflag.com/coaches/default/flag-football-rules/flag-football-equipment
  2. National Institutes of Health. Taking on Teeth Grinding and Clenching. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2021/12/taking-teeth-grinding-clenching
  3. Cleveland Clinic. Dislocated Jaw. https://battlesports.com/mouthguards/
  4. NFL Flag. How to Play Flag Football. https://nflflag.com/coaches/flag-football-rules/how-to-play-flag-football
  5. Sports Health. Common Dental Injury Management in Athletes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4482297/
  6. British Dental Journal. A Review of Mouthguards: Effectiveness, Types, Characteristics, and Indications for Use. https://www.nature.com/articles/sj.bdj.2017.365
  7. American Dental Association. Athletic Mouth Protectors (Mouthguards). https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/athletic-mouth-protectors-mouthguards

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