Save Lives, Protect Teeth With Innovative Mouthguard From Howard County Dentist

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A Columbia dentist, dad and former football coach has helped develop a special athletic mouthguard that not only protects teeth but saves lives.

Dr. George Garbis co-created the ThermoPact MouthShield with Viron Wildy. Together they produced a boil and bite athletic mouthguard that protects teeth up to 50 percent more than other athletic mouthguards on the market today, he told Patch. But the mouthguards also have a built in life-saving mechanism.

When an athlete’s oral temperature reaches 102 degrees, the ThermoPact MouthShield will change colors from black to red, alerting players, coaches and parents of potentially devastating heat-related illnesses.

"As a dentist of 20 years, dad and a coach who coached my son up to high school in football who played four years at Glenelg High, I never was satisfied with the quality of guards over the counter. For the last seven to eight years, I had been dabbling with a better more protective guard and came up with this particular design. During this time, Jordan McNair, a UMD football player, died of heat exhaustion. Being a huge Terp family, it hit me hard and my partner and I started to research how something simple can detect temp change. We came up with the patent pending design and formula," Garbis said.

The design of the mouthguard can absorb 20 to 50 percent more impact than most over-the-counter popular brands, which was revealed in a test the co-creators had conducted. To detect overheating in a player, the outer black shell of the guard will start to change color at 100 degrees then change completely at 102 degrees.

"Keep in mind this is not a medical device or a thermometer, but merely another way to check on athletes during practices or games," Garbis said.

For more information, visit www.thermopact.com.