What Is The Gag Reflex And How To Avoid It
- Ken Mitchell
- Sep 18, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 4
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Pharyngeal Reflex, oh man... those words alone makes me want to gag! This is the medical term for the gag reflex, which is the natural bodily response to keep a person from choking, it's kinda like a defense mechanism. The gag reflex, is a contraction of the throat that happens when something touches the roof of your mouth, the back of your tongue or throat, or the area around your tonsils.
This reflexive action helps to prevent people from choking and keeps you from swallowing potentially harmful substances. Some people have an overly sensitive gag reflex that can be triggered by things such as anxiety, postnasal drip, or acid reflux. Swallowing pills, a trip to the dentist’s office or a mouthguard that is too large can also be troublesome for those with an overactive gag reflex.
Sometimes that gag reflex can be annoying to say the least. You could be participating in a sporting event and the heat of the event, you start gagging from your mouthguard! That should not happen and could be a major problem if it does happen!
So why do some mouthguards cause some athletes to gag? The most common issue causing an athlete to gag could be the overall length (from the front to the back of the mouthguard). If your mouthguard is too long and you want to know how to trim your mouthguard, check out my blog post How To Properly Trim A Mouthguard. theAlso, some athletes are more inherent than others to have a strong gag reflex.
Some other factors that could trigger the gag reflex include, the mouthguard being too thick, too tall, too loose, too much material in the soft pallet, chewed on or a bad taste or smell.
When a mouthguard is too long (from the front of the mouthguard to the back), the extra material or extra length at the back of the mouth pushes the tongue back and triggers the gag reflex. A mouthguard actually does not need to cover all of your posterior (molars) teeth. Mouthguards can end at the back of your 1st molar or half way over your second molar. Trimming your mouthguard to the ideal length is actually fairly easy with the correct scissors. I suggest investing in a nice pair of scissors to customize your mouthguard. If you have a Dremel you could actually take customizing your mouthguard to another level by smoothing out all of the cuts you make with scissors. Check out my blog post "How To Properly Trim A Mouthguard"
Any mouthguard that has material in the soft pallet area doesn't serve any purpose and does not protect the athlete from injury. Nothing should be in the soft pallet because it could trigger the gag reflex.
A mouthguard should fit snug against your teeth without the need to clench or bite down to keep it from falling out of your mouth. A loose mouthguard could definitely trigger the gag reflex. A chewed on mouthguard can also be a contributor to the gag reflex because of the ill fitting in the mouth.
When fitting your boil-and-bite mouthguard or taking or getting an impression there are a few things you can do to avoid the gag reflex.
Tips To Avoid The Gag Reflex
1) Breathe through your nose
2) Don't swallow your saliva
3) Squeeze a stress ball
4) Squeeze your left thumb in a fist
5) Apply pressure in-between your thumb and index finger
THE MATERIALS AND INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE HAVE BEEN PREPARED OR ASSEMBLED BY THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW AND ARE INTENDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ADVICE FROM A LICENSED HEALTH-CAR PROFESSIONAL. YOU SHOULD NOT RELY SOLELY ON THIS CONTENT, AND THE MOUTHGUARD REVIEW ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR INACCURACIES. ALWAYS READ LABELS AND DIRECTIONS BEFORE USING A PRODUCT. SOME OF THE INFORMATION MAY BE DATED AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT EVENTS. I WROTE THIS ARTICLE MYSELF AND IT EXPRESSES MY OWN OPINIONS.
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