Mouth guards are highly recommended while playing contact sports e.g. footy, basketball, rugby, cricket, hockey or martial arts. It can prevent damage to teeth, surrounding soft tissue, jaws and even reduce risk of brain injury. Mouth guards are especially important if the upper incisors are protrusive (making them more prone to damage).
While wearing braces, custom mouth guards can be made to fit over the braces. However, when there is lot of teeth movement, especially in the early phase, the custom mouth guard may not fit after a short time. A more economical way is to use a “stock mouth guard for braces" at the early phase. Once the teeth position are more stable, a customised mouth guard can be made.