Objectives: To present a grading system of the protection offered by various types of mouthguard, together with an indication of associated risks, in order to make athletes aware of the consequences of improper or no mouth protection. Methods: A review of the literature on mouthguards, mouthguard materials, and novel laminates for mouthguards was carried out as it was apparent that information on mouthguards was lacking. Studies on stock (or unfitted) mouthguards, mouth formed (boil and bite) mouthguards, and custom mouthguards are reviewed. Results: A scale of protection offered by various mouthguards and novel laminates has been produced, where 0 indicates no mouthguard and 10 indicates a custom made mouthguard offering excellent protection. Conclusions: From work carried out on laminates and the manufacturing processes of mouthguards, it became apparent that information was lacking to enable athletes make informed decisions about the best oral protection for their chosen sport.

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A brief review of the models used to predict the cumulative fatigue damage in FRP composites is presented. Two-stage fatigue loading of a [0/90,+/- 45(2),0/90](s) quasi-isotropic woven carbon fibre/epoxy resin laminate was evaluated at stress ratio R=0.05 and the failure mechanisms investigated using x-radiography after each loading stage. The results are presented in terms of fatigue strength and damage growth and are compared with those in the literature. A low-to-high loading sequence is more damaging than a high-to-low one and the Palmgren-Miner linear damage rule may no longer be valid for this kind of material, as previously reported

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