Gum Shields for Kids' Rugby: Which One, How to Mould It, Braces, and How to Clean It

If your child has just started rugby, the gum shield is the one bit of kit you'll be asked about first, and the one most parents get slightly wrong. Too big, never moulded, chewed to bits by October, or lost in the bottom of a bag that smells like a wet dog. This is everything you need to know, in the order you'll need it.

Does my child need a gum shield?

Yes. The RFU strongly recommends gum shields for all contact rugby, most clubs and schools make them compulsory for anything involving tackling, and dentists will tell you a knocked-out tooth costs a great deal more than the shield that would have kept it in. From the first tackle session onwards, no gum shield means no contact. Coaches will enforce it, so buy it before the first session rather than after the first tooth.

Which type?

There are three kinds and only two of them are worth your money.

Stock (ready to wear). One size, no moulding, the cheapest thing on the shelf. They don't fit, so kids take them out to talk and breathe, which means they're not in when the tackle happens. Avoid.

Boil and bite. The right answer for almost every junior player. You soften it in hot water, your child bites into it, and it sets to the shape of their teeth. Junior and adult sizes, a few pounds to fifteen or so. Good brands fit well and last a season. This is what most of the room will be wearing.

Custom (dentist-made). The best fit and the best protection, made from an impression of your child's teeth. Sixty pounds upwards, and children's mouths change, so a custom shield for a nine-year-old is a custom shield for about a year. Worth it for teenagers playing serious contact; a luxury for minis.

Junior or adult size?

Most brands split at roughly age ten or eleven, but it's the mouth that matters, not the birthday. A shield that's too big will gag at the back and never get worn; too small and it doesn't cover the back teeth. If the packet says "junior up to age 10" and your twelve-year-old is small for their age, the junior may still be the right fit. Mould it, check the back molars are covered, and check they can talk and breathe with it in. If you're between sizes, size down: a shield that's in the mouth beats one that's in the pocket.

How to mould a boil and bite gum shield

Read the instructions on the packet first, because the timings vary by brand. The general method is the same:

1. Boil a kettle and pour the water into a mug or bowl. Have a second bowl of cold water ready.
2. Drop the shield into the hot water for the time on the packet. Usually somewhere between 20 and 60 seconds. It goes soft and slightly floppy; it shouldn't go limp.
3. Lift it out with a spoon, shake off the water and let it cool for a few seconds so it doesn't burn. Test it on the back of your hand.
4. Your child puts it in over their top teeth, bites down firmly, and sucks hard to pull it tight against the teeth and gums. Press it against the front teeth with your fingers through the lip. Hold for the time on the packet, usually about 30 seconds.
5. Take it out and straight into the cold water to set.
6. Check the fit. It should stay in place without biting down. If it's loose, or the back teeth aren't covered, you can usually re-mould once. After that it's a new shield.

Two mistakes to avoid: leaving it in the water too long, which thins the material and ruins the protection, and moulding it with the child's mouth clamped shut instead of biting and sucking, which gives a shield that fits the front teeth and nothing else.

Gum shields with braces

Don't mould a standard shield over braces. The material sets around the brackets, it's a nightmare to remove, and it can pull the wire. Buy an orthodontic gum shield, which is designed to sit over braces without moulding and to flex as the teeth move. They cost a bit more and they're worth every penny of it. If your child has braces top and bottom, there are double orthodontic shields, though most kids find them hard to breathe in and a top-only shield is usually what the orthodontist suggests. Ask them; they'll have a preference.

How to clean a gum shield

This is the bit nobody does, which is why gum shields smell the way they do by half term. After every session: rinse it under cold water, brush it gently with a soft toothbrush and a drop of mild soap, rinse again, and leave it to dry completely before it goes in the case. Never hot water, which warps it. Never the dishwasher. Once a week, a short soak in a denture cleaning tablet or a mouthwash-and-water mix, then a rinse. A smell that survives a wash is a shield that's had its time.

The case matters as much as the cleaning. A ventilated case that lets it dry is the difference between a shield and a science experiment. Never straight into a zipped pocket wet.

When to replace it

Every season, as a rule, and sooner if any of these apply: it's got tooth marks through it, it's cracked or the edges are ragged, it no longer fits (mouths grow, teeth come through), it's been chewed flat, or it smells no matter what you do. A gum shield that's been re-moulded twice is done. For most junior players that's one a season, sometimes two.

The shield is one bit of the bag

The gum shield protects teeth. The rest of your child's rugby health is the boring stuff: showering after training, kit washed every time, cuts and grass burns cleaned and covered, and the club having a proper first aid kit by the pitch. Our kids' rugby kit list for parents covers what actually goes in the bag, and the turf burn guide is the one you'll want bookmarked by week three.

This article is general guidance for parents and is not dental or medical advice. Ask your dentist or orthodontist about the right gum shield for your child, especially with braces, and follow the manufacturer's instructions for moulding.