Dental school, UB Athletics collaborate on custom mouth guards for student-athletes

With football season on the horizon, the UB Bulls are focused on getting players ready for game time. This year, the pre-season preparation included a collaboration with the School of Dental Medicine to provide UB’s football players with custom mouth guards — in a vibrant shade of UB Blue.

Approximately 55 student-athletes received custom mouth guards prepared by 13 students who volunteered their time before the start of the fall semester. The students traveled to UB Stadium with boxes of alginate, trays and all the supplies needed to take impressions for the team.

“This exciting collaboration connected both sides of the university — athletics and academics,” says Brian Bratta, senior associate athletic director, sports medicine & wellness services. “Our student-athletes received custom care and dental students gained invaluable hands-on experience.”

Under the supervision of Eugena Stephan, associate dean for clinical affairs, students honed their skills in mixing alginate, loading trays and perfectly positioning the trays for each player. The impressions were taken in the Bulls athletic training room, then brought back to Squire Hall so students could pour the casts. Once complete, the molds were returned to the athletic training room, which has a vacuum-forming machine to create mouth guards on site.

“Our students had the opportunity to practice their skills in a unique, real-world setting, which makes learning memorable and fun,” Stephan says. “This event provided a different perspective on what they learn in the classroom, as well as opportunities to make connections with fellow UB students.”

The partnership between the dental school and athletics department highlights the importance of hands-on learning and the outcomes that can be achieved when different parts of the university team up to benefit students.