Eating normally after custom mouthguard: the short version
You can eat normally immediately after a mouthguard fitting. Taking an impression or scan and trying in the finished guard do nothing to your teeth or gums, so no recovery or diet change is involved. The single rule concerns the guard: take it out to eat. A mouthguard is not made for chewing food, and eating with one in damages it and traps food against your teeth.
What is actually going on
A sports guard or night guard is made to cushion or separate the teeth, and its surface is softer than enamel. Chewing food against it scores and thins the material, and bits of food get pressed between the guard and the teeth, where sugar and acid sit undisturbed. A night guard is worn only for sleep, so the question does not arise beyond not snacking after it goes in. With a sports guard the temptation is energy chews, gels, or snacks during a game; remove the guard, eat, rinse with water, and put it back. Impression putty can leave an aftertaste or rubbery fragments between teeth for an hour, which a meal and brushing remove. When a new night guard is first worn, your bite can feel briefly odd in the morning, and that usually clears within minutes of taking it out.
The first time, step by step
A fitting changes nothing in your mouth, so you can eat on the way home. If an impression was taken, expect a faint putty taste, perhaps a rubbery fleck or two between the teeth, and a jaw that is a little tired from being held open. A scan leaves no trace. The first real change comes later, when a sports guard has to come out for a snack and go back in. Practice that at home once: out, into its case, a rinse of water, and back onto the teeth. If the guard no longer seats fully, have your dentist check it.
Eat Normally After Custom Mouthguard: What You Need to Know
Wait time
After a custom mouthguard, you can typically resume eating normally immediately.
Why
No restrictions
Tips for Eating normally After Custom Mouthguard
- 01Keep the guard's case in your sports bag so it has somewhere clean to go when you take it out to eat.
- 02Rinse your mouth with water before putting the guard back in after food.
- 03Brush and floss before a night guard goes in, and do not eat again until morning.
- 04If your teeth do not seem to fit together properly for more than a short while after removing a night guard, tell your dentist.
Common mistakes
- 01Chewing on the guard itself during a game as though it were gum. The back edges get bitten thin within weeks, and a guard with chewed-down ends no longer cushions the teeth it was made for.
- 02Cleaning the guard after a meal with hot water or in the dishwasher. Heat softens the material it was molded from, and a warped guard rocks on the teeth instead of gripping them.
- 03Wearing a new sports guard for the first time at a match with a snack break. Fumbling it out with wet hands is when guards get dropped on the ground, so the first try belongs at home.
Other Activities After Custom Mouthguard
See when you can do other activities after your custom mouthguard:
Table 1 — Other activities after custom mouthguard
| Activity | Wait |
|---|---|
| Use a Straw | Immediately |
| Smoke | No restriction |
| Drink Alcohol | No restriction |
| Drive | Immediately |
| Exercise | Immediately |
| Return to Work | Immediately |
Recovery info
Recovery timelines are general guidelines based on typical cases. Individual recovery may vary based on your health, the complexity of your procedure, and other factors. Your own dentist's or surgeon's post-operative instructions always take priority over anything on this page. Call them if you are unsure.