Smart mouthguards are moving into real-world use, with devices now tracking impacts, heart rate, movement, and other health data directly from the athlete’s mouth.
By Genni Burkhart, Editor
Mouthguards have always had a straightforward purpose: to protect the teeth, soft tissues, and supporting structures during impact. However, even this simple oral device is advancing, now capable of measuring data, sending real-time alerts, and flashing red on severe impact.
Smart mouthguards are already used in elite sport and available through limited manufacturers in select markets. The technology is still developing, but it's moved far enough into real-world use to be worth better understanding.
With sensors, batteries, and wireless communication built into the appliance, smart mouthguards can measure head movement, flag significant impacts, and collect performance data from inside the mouth. The appliance still has to work as a protection device first, but technology is giving it a second role as a data-collecting device for athletes, researchers, and clinicians.
It's All About Location
Researchers have been studying sensor-equipped mouthguards for more than a decade. In 2013, Stanford researchers placed sensors inside football players’ mouthguards to measure linear and angular head movement during impact.
It just so happens the mouth is a useful place to collect that information. Because a well-fitted upper mouthguard moves closely with the skull, it can capture head-impact data more accurately than sensors in helmets, skin patches, or other equipment that shifts during play.
Mouthguard design has also improved. Earlier tech-enabled models tended to use boil-and-bite guards with bulky electronics near the palate. Newer versions now place smaller components near the upper posterior teeth, where they can sit inside a more stable appliance with less discomfort.
Where the Technology Is Being Used
World Rugby has brought smart mouthguards into wider view. In 2023, the organization announced an initial €2 million investment in the technology and later integrated approved instrumented mouthguards into its elite head injury assessment process.
During elite matches, a significant head impact can trigger an alert for the match's medical team. World Rugby’s instrumented mouthguard specifications also require real-time access, with data available on the pitch-side device portal within 30 seconds.
In fact, this technology isn't limited to professional rugby alone. The company Prevent Biometrics works with additional elite organizations and sports programs worldwide, as well as World Rugby. In the U.S., Glidewell offers the ORB Sport™ Smart Mouthguard through dental practices, with a custom appliance made from physical or digital impressions that's monitored through a connected mobile app.
In Australia, HITIQ sells its PROTEQT™ smart mouthguard through a Canadian distribution partnership targeting the "hockey ecosystem" for institutional and consumer use. This boil-and-bite device gives athletes and families post-session reports through an app, bringing this new technology into community-level sport and elite competition.
What Can (and Can't) Smart Mouthguards Do?
Smart mouthguards can measure the direction, speed, timing, and frequency of head movement. The data collected can then help identify an impact that deserves medical review, including one that may be missed from the sideline. However, they don't diagnose concussions. They do add another layer of information for medical teams, coaches, and athletes to use for health monitoring or performance improvement.
As such, accuracy is vital. In laboratory testing, researchers evaluated smart mouthguards across a range of sports-related conditions. World Rugby also requires devices to meet rigorous performance standards, including a positive predictive value of at least 90% in on-field testing and sensitivity of at least 80% for direct head impacts.
Some smart mouthguards collect more than just impact data. ORB Sport records more than 20 fitness and wellness measures, including heart rate, distance, movement intensity, and head impact data. Other research has explored mouthguard sensors for clenching, respiratory rate, dehydration, physiological stress, salivary glucose, pH, and additional biomarkers.
While some of these measurement capabilities are already part of commercial products, others are still in development. But together, they show how quickly the mouthguard is becoming the newest platform for athlete data.
Protection Is Priority
The added technology does not change the mouthguard’s first responsibility—to protect the athlete’s mouth.
The fit of the device, much like its original design, plays a major role in both protection and data quality. If the appliance shifts against the teeth, the sensor may record movement from the guard instead of the athlete’s head. Biting, clenching, moisture, and temperature can also affect readings.
A 2026 British Dental Journal review recommends a multilayer laminated, pressure-formed EVA mouthguard at least 3 mm thick in the buccal and incisal areas. Smart guards also need enough material between the dentition and the electronics to preserve protection and support sensor stability.
Adjustments require additional care as well. Trimming or heating too close to electronic components can damage the device or separate EVA layers. The technology may be new, but the clinical priorities remain familiar. The mouthguard has to fit, stay in place, protect the athlete, and leave enough material where impact protection matters most.
What the Research Still Shows
Even as connected devices advance, many athletes still don't wear even the most basic oral protection. In a 2026 survey of 357 athletes, 37.3% had experienced dental trauma, only 21.1% sought professional care afterward, and 62.7% never wore a mouthguard during training. Yikes!
Those numbers have context. A smart mouthguard can collect useful data, but it still has to be comfortable enough and practical enough for the athlete to wear consistently, much like a retainer or aligner.
The evidence for conventional mouthguards also remains important. A 2023 meta-analysis found a 26% lower concussion incidence among mouthguard users in collision sports. Instrumented devices also add data collection to that protective role, but they don't replace the need for quality fabrication, appropriate material thickness, and a reliable fit.
A New Category in Sports Dentistry
Smart mouthguards are adding a new layer to sports dentistry. They can support head-impact monitoring, performance review, and research while keeping the appliance's ultimate goal rooted in oral protection. A connected mouthguard can also record impacts at the point of contact, create a record of exposure, and provide information that may help medical teams and researchers better understand athlete risk. Those are all meaningful benefits.
However, the cautions are just as clear. The data depends on a good fit, sensor accuracy, durability, comfort, and proper interpretation. A smart mouthguard can't diagnose a concussion, nor can it make a poorly fitting appliance protective.
For now, the most useful way to understand mouthguard technology is also the simplest. A mouthguard is still meant to protect the mouth. It's simply getting a digital makeover, one that allows it to measure, record, and report far more than its original designer, Wulf Krause, ever imagined 136 years ago.
Author: With over 16 years as a published journalist, editor, and writer, Genni Burkhart's career has spanned politics, healthcare, law, business finance, technology, and news. She resides in Northern Colorado, where she works as the editor-in-chief of the Incisor at DOCS Education.
References
- Camarillo DB, Shull PB, Mattson J, Shultz R, Garza D. An instrumented mouthguard for measuring linear and angular head impact kinematics in American football. Ann Biomed Eng. 2013;41(9):1939-1949. doi:10.1007/s10439-013-0801-y
- Eliason PH, Galarneau JM, Kolstad AT, Pankow MP, West SW. Prevention strategies and modifiable risk factors for sport-related concussions and head impacts: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(12):749-761. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-106656
- Jones CM, Austin K, Augustus SN, Nicholas KJ, Yu X, Baker C, Chan EYK, Loosemore M, Ghajari M. An instrumented mouthguard for real-time measurement of head kinematics under a large range of sport-specific accelerations. Sensors. 2023;23(16):7068. doi:10.3390/s23167068
- Haughey JP, Tierney G, Farrell G, Needleman I. Beyond protection: the growing role of instrumented mouthguards in sports. Br Dent J. 2026;240(4):241-247. doi:10.1038/s41415-026-9547-4
- Coşkun Albayrak S, Yılmaz Çakıroğlu AE, Çakıroğlu T. Post-traumatic dental care, mouthguard use, and preventive behavior among athletes participating in sports with different contact intensities: a cross-sectional study. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2026. doi:10.1186/s13102-026-01935-y
- World Rugby. World Rugby integrates smart mouthguard technology into the Head Injury Assessment as part of a new phase of global player welfare measures. Published October 9, 2023. world.rugby/news/875212/world-rugby-integrates-smart-mouthguard-technology-to-the-head-injury-assessment-as-part-of-new-phase-of-global-player-welfare-measures
- World Rugby. World Rugby requirements for Instrumented Mouthguards (iMGs) specification. Published November 28, 2023. world.rugby/the-game/facilities-equipment/equipment/imgs-specs
