Reuters Health reports on the findings of a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine which found youth ice hockey players who wear mouthguards to protect their teeth and jaws may also have significantly lower odds of concussion.

Reuters Health spoke to Andrew Paul Creighton, DO, physiatrist at HSS, who wasn’t involved in the study, about the findings. “I do feel mouthguard use can help lower the risk of concussion, specifically when the jaw hits something or something hits the jaw. However, I am not aware of anything that has definitively proven this in the literature,” cited Dr. Creighton. “The current study is interesting from a cost standpoint too. Custom mouthguards, which are significantly more expensive, were not shown to be associated with a lower concussion rate compared to off-the-shelf mouthguards,” said Dr. Creighton. Furthermore, he added, “The study also did not assess the quality and fit of the mouthguard, however, and whether the athlete wore it correctly while playing.”

Read the article at Reuters.com.