Anyone ,who trains boxing or any other combat sports, would want the best protection possible, right? We choose right boxing head gear which has incredible shock absorbing features. We get a sparring pair which has every safety feature to protect our sparring partner. And mouth guard is one of the things which has simply vital importance for our safety. It has so many benefits including protecting our teeth, soft tissues and brain. 
If you want to read all about its safety features, you can check out its benefits in detail. With that so many people wonderabout which mouth guard type is better for their boxing and martial arts training. There are some really important things to consider when you choose it and let’s start single vs. double mouth guard with breathing and comfort.
Breathing and Comfort
Single mouth guards are smaller and these only cover the upper side of your mouth. With that these provide more breathing capacity and are way comfortable than double mouth guards.
Even though double ones are bulkier, some of these have holes. If you have really hard time while breathing with this guard type, then you can try one which has holes. In this way you will get more air and in most cases it will be enough.
With that I generally see reviews which basically say that it is way easier to breathe with single mouth guards and it is my experience as well.
Let’s talk about fitting. Custom guards will be really good fit for your mouth. After all it is custom for you. And you will have seriously incredible experience with it. However if you get a regular one you may have some problems. For example single ones can come off your mouth for no reason. And if you don’t have nice teeth structure, double mouth guards won’t fit right. These are common fitting problems with these guards.
When guards are not custom, single ones generally get better reviews for fitting and it is also my experience.
It is also way easier to talk and drink water with single mouth guard however these are exactly the opposite with double.
With that, there are some very quality mouth guards for every type including double, single and custom. These have all the features in this writing as well. If you are looking for one, then definitely check out these best mouth guards. I am sure that you will find a guard for your need.
About Protection
Double ones are bulkier however it will force your mouth to close. In that way, when you get punched you can even smile back 😉
On the other hand, if your mouth is open and you take a punch while using single, it can seriously hurt and you can get a serious injury.
According to researches, double mouth guards provide better protection for joints of jaw and your jaw will be safer with these. You can also read more details about it on here.
About Soft Tissue
Obviously your soft tissue can also face impact during training and I really hate the pain of it. However I hate more if my mouth guard also hurts the soft tissue inside of my mouth. And double ones get a lot of complaints and bad reviews about it whereas single mouth guards are pretty good about protecting it.
Important Note: I highly recommend you to get custom mouth guard because when it is custom fit for your mouth it is less likely to hurt your soft tissue and teeth. These will also last around 3 years. Many boil and bite guards can be useless after just one impact and can get rough edges. These edges can hurt your mouth and make it bleed. Of course you can save some money with a cheap one however it is not a good trade–off, is it?
What about People who Use Braces?
Double custom ones are recommended for people ,who use braces, by dentists and authoritative dental sites. However I have no personal experience with it and also I have not had a single boxing buddy with braces. Even though I trust this information I highly recommend you to consult your OWN dentist. Because not all situations are same and not all brace types, materials are same. With that definitely check out the material which your dentist will use and definitely tell your dentist about your training type (riding a bike, MMA, boxing…) with it. Because material type and thickness of mouth guard can change according to it.
Retention in Mouth
This situation changes according to one mouth guard to another. And its type does not matter. I had drooling problems with both single and double. And I had also very good experience with other single and double guards. So if you concern about it you can just look at the review of the product.
Let’s talk about why same products have both amazing and horrible reviews…
Some people will vouch for their double mouth guards and some vouch for single ones. But some other people say that these suck and complain about these.
So, who will You Trust?
Well actually everyone might be saying the truth. Because a mouth guard can be perfect for someone however it can suck for another. Because these people generally talk about regular models and not the custom ones.
Keep in mind that everyone has different teeth structure.
I actually prefer single custom guards. These just work very well for me. And it seems that this type gets “more” positive feedback from buyers.
Conclusive Thoughts
These are all differences, pros and cons between double and single guards. If you have hard time while keeping your mouth closed during training and have good teeth structure then you should consider a double mouth guard. However you may want to breathe easier and “better fit” then you can train with single ones. Whichever you choose, I strongly recommend you to get a custom one. These will fit way better and offer a lot better protection. And of course you need to choose it according to your sport type. This is one of the products which you should be really careful while choosing. Because it concerns your health directly. I hope you find this information useful and if you have any questions related to single vs. double mouth guard please leave a comment below.
It sounds like the single one is the best and won’t affect you while you are training or fighting. If you can’t breathe you won’t have much stamina correct? I never boxed before but it just seems the double ones would affect your performance.
If double mouth guards are not good it can decrease the breathing capacity and affect your performance in boxing. If you have concerns you can check out reviews of mouth guards. It will give you an idea about which guard offers more comfort etc.
Hey Furkan, great article! I used to do martial arts for about 5-6 years and I always had those cheap shitty ones from Canadian Tire. They had to be boiled and then fitted – and they never worked properly!
Also, they got really dirty and smelly. Just nasty. Next time I get into some kind of martial arts I will surely go with a custom one!
I never had experience with them but I have experiences with really low-quality mouth guards. Well, let’s say that I did not feel safe.
Whether you have perfect teeth structure or not custom mouth guard is way to go. According to my experiences, it protects you way better and I am sure that you don’t spar without it in any martial arts 😉
Double mouth guards seem to be the safest. The main complaint against them is that they restrict breathing. Good breathing is essential in combat sports, and it is always a sign of a “gassed” (out of breath) fighter when he/she breathes with their mouth open. So it also seems to be an issue of cardio-vascular fitness, since the recommendation there is to breathe through your nose. I have personally never had a custom-fitted one, usually I use a single acrylic type. After reading this article (and due to the fact I accidentally bought a double acrylic type the other day) I will try out the double one.
It is safer than the others however nothing can protect you from an uppercut properly. Yeah, these are quite bulky and in many cases, you may have difficulties with double mouth guards. In an ideal situation, you are right. It is always ideal to breathe through your nose but sometimes we just can’t focus on how to breathe. Well, I am certainly not good in this area.
You can see single ones everywhere and these are definitely comfier, however, health-wise getting a double one or custom mouth guard will be a better choice.