Mouth protector as a preventive measure against unintended oral mucosal injury during the use of dental instruments

Background: Modern dental practice frequently involves the use of invasive instruments. In complex clinical settings with limited access to the operative field, such tools can cause unintended trauma to the oral mucosa. Existing protective methods have notable limitations and do not fully prevent mechanical injury to oral soft tissues. As a potential solution, the authors propose the use of mouth protectors. Aim: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of the proposed mouth protectors. Methods: A single-center, observational, prospective study was conducted involving 40 patients aged 20 to 60 years undergoing prosthodontic treatment with fixed dental prostheses. Participants were randomly assigned to two equal groups. Group A received treatment using the proposed mouth protectors during tooth preparation. Group B underwent tooth preparation without mouth protectors. The total duration of the study was 5 weeks. Throughout the study, all cases of unintended oral mucosal injury occurring during the tooth preparation stage were recorded for both groups using visual inspection and staining, and documented in a summary table. The surface area of the lesions was measured photometrically, and patient-reported symptoms were assessed via structured interviews. The results were compared between groups to assess the effectiveness of the mouth protectors. Results: All participants completed the study. The incidence of oral mucosal injuries in Group A was 76.9% lower than in Group B. The total lesion area in Group A was 74.6% smaller than in Group B. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed mouth protectors in reducing mechanical injury to the oral mucosa during prosthodontic procedures.