Hiq will come to the rescue ,as Afl facing a $60m lawsuit for concussion, page-8

I don’t understand the exact design of this mouthguard. But I can’t believe it is revolutionary.
Or believe that can be universal fix or protection.

Research and designing for mouthguards has been huge, literally enormous work and research and studies for the past 40+ years. Universities and specialists level- everywhere
Eg. Dr Pat Chapman at Uni Qld designed a bi-maxillary mouth guard and worked to make it mandatory for boxers to wear in professional bouts , way back in the early 1980s. Then his design was standard for our national Rugby team I think.
My memory hazy but I recall a story of him being the medico present at one boxing match in Bris one night and needing to resuscitate maybe someone in the audience? , & saved their life after a cardiac arrest.
But he was present at these boxing matches usually as the issue was severe concussions and brain injury risks as well as teeth and jaw and facial bone fractures and injuries, for the boxers. Someone needed to judge if there was an injury & give first aid care and call time on the match if required.

Elite football definitely up there with similar risks but boxing lead the way I think.

Has been deemed completely necessary for dual upper and lower jaws/ teeth to be protected with very good quality dental impressions required, for decades.
Dental laboratory technicians making customised mouth guards should reject the impressions or poured casts if not of best standard.
Though not up on current absolute designs, it is compulsory for elite Rugby league and union players to wear since back in the 80s?- Unpopular to wear of course when bimaxillary.

But the sport is ridiculous.
I hate football & the number of injuries have seen.

Monday mornings at main hospitals- the fractures to the angles of the mandible weekend football players, or mid facial or eyesocket damage just so common.
Every oral and maxillofacial surgeon is seeing, all the time.

The cause ?
Likely the presence of an unerupted, lower third molar ,aka wisdom teeth.
I think.
The story is horrible- but illustrates the ethos and attitudes with some players , excessive force and aggression.

The unerupted wisdom teeth occupy a lot of space in the angle of the mandible or lower jaw , in three dimensions in volume - and the jaw is not very thick. If you look at the anatomy the angle of the lower jaw and teeth in the bone and it is more dense bone but can be fractured more easily, plus the forces sustained right through this area- and it makes sense.
Was difficult to be sure and I saw the story and looked briefly - but the one scan seems to suggest an upper wisdom tooth partially coming through or erupting.. Guessed therefore that the lower one was in the jaw, also not erupted .

Footballers probably wisely should have had third molar teeth removed IF their teeth are not going to manage to erupt but remain impacted in their lower jaw.
The risks of jaw fractures are just so high in these instances- for anyone and can occur for instance in a car accident if similar case.
The upper teeth partially erupted are not of great concern though best to manage- really have to also come out as otherwise they won’t be functional with no lower, and actually become quite ‘stagnant’ , plaque-covered and longterm get decayed or more likely cause issues with the more useful important tooth in front later in life. Plus they can over- erupt and impinge on lower gum area & cause a lot of discomfort and misery and even infection.

However wrt excellently designed protective mouthguards. People perceive them to be about protecting teeth from breakage and loss and need for expensive treatment .
And they mostly do this.
Teeth are not the main thing at all however -
Absolutely it is the brain and protection against bony fractures, & concussion injuries and worse that matters more. Though teeth matter to be protected- this is easiest to achieve.

Concussion injuries can never truly be quantified however .

The lower jaw is difficult to fully protect. Cannot totally.
Can still sustain fractures particularly to the angle of the mandible or lower jaw.

Really want to protect from extreme forces that might be sustained up through the lower jaw.. being communicated up into the base of the brain- literally the brain so vulnerable in event extreme forces up through at angle in lower jaw.

A properly fitted excellent designed appliance -one hopes can help dissipate major trauma forces, ie ‘spread ‘ the force / dissipate, so doesn’t remain or be so concentrated where trauma or blow sustained — mainly for the brain but need protect against bony fractures both mandible and maxilla but also commonly mid- facial (cheek bone ) fractures and orbit fractures- multiple fractures the eye- sockets.

Because there is the oral cavity (mouth) and air- spaces the sinuses & soft tissue significantly of course with eyes, brain, mouth often can be asymmetrically banged shut by trauma forces, jaws be partially dislocated etc. Tongue , nose etc- heal, and facial contusions though can need repairs.
The head , skull - is not a medicine ball

I worked for the ADF for nearly a decade in the 2000s - and any Defence Force member who did not wear their mouthguard when playing contact sports, even including when playing water polo where can sustain hits to the face and jaws, could be disciplined.
Such is the seriousness.
And literally every member in nominated sports and teams was given time off in work time to go get properly fitted mouthguard impressions taken and then also go for mouthguard fitting. Bimaxillary( encasing both upper and lower jaws) was standard for ADF football team players at representative level though not for standard PT.
Each at considerable expense- all covered .

Seen obscure things resulting from some spontaneous minor play where man wasn’t wearing mouthguard or maybe was , yet still fractured a lower back molar, after running into a goalpost with force to the front. Still enough to bang jaws together and mouth partly open and teeth still broken.

Fractures to cheek bones and orbital fractures not too uncommon.
The concussion injuries potential still the big concern.

Some lower back teeth injuries or upper front region teeth traumas take years to become apparent- eg from a car accident, or trauma injury, or being punched or attacked (eg working overseas in dangerous country situations ) years earlier.

Football at high school level associated with many fractured jaws.
By senior level, elite schools teams with students taken in on scholarships to play football , can be very big young men- front of scrum players can be experiencing forces ~ multiple tonnes towards them cumulatively from the other team players together.

Mouthguards for football , soccer etc- to me compulsory and been so for also decades, by responsible local junior sporting teams.
Can be off the shelf though for many.
I volunteered to take impressions for literally an entire junior rugby team player cohort - 5-12 year olds, on a Saturday each year, and we organised very cheap, bulk lab deals, also gratuitous, so that for the parents the expense was less than $50 and free of course if insured.
Would do this often anyway to assist families and reinforce the importance, new mouthguards each year.

Compulsory along with headgear, shin pads, for junior players since decades ago- at any level of representative play is very much managed.
Every age.

Elite football players - mouthguard design and dental specialist management been standard for decades.
A prosthodontist even gladly acted as consultant to our National rugby team.
Decades ago.

The players take this obligation and safety very seriously.
Can not fully protect from concussion injuries for all traumas that can be sustained imo, at most elite level football , with extremely strong and big players playing very aggressively. Thuggery really. I apologise that I am not at all up on what is offered here !