Enhancing sports mouthguards with PLA + and PC: stress reduction, energy absorption, and topology optimization.

Objectives: The objective of this paper was to compare the effectiveness of different materials for mouthguards in preventing oral and maxillofacial injuries during sports activities. The present study compares the stress-reduction and energy absorption capabilities of two other fused filament materials - poly(lactic-acid plus) (PLA+) and polycarbonate (PC), with Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), which is the most commonly used material for mouthguard fabrication.

Materials And Methods: Two human skulls were modelled, and a boxing glove simulated punches along the x, y, and z-axes with 5 mm displacement with 1 kN force.