Video: Danger may lurk in athletes' mouthguards

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Most athletes, and parents of young competitors, know a mouth guard can be essential in preventing injuries while they play. What they may not know is that the same piece of equipment that offers protection can also lead to life-threatening illnesses.

"He used to wear it where they were attached to the cage. We never took it off, and then he'd put it in his mouth. I mean, we never cleaned it. NEVER," said Patricia Howell, the mother of an athlete.

But the results of a new study from Oklahoma State University may have athletes rethinking those actions. After swabbing dozens of mouth guards, researchers found that germs keep on multiplying dramatically.

"The mouth guard becomes highly, highly contaminated. In other words, every time the athlete puts the mouth guard into his mouth, it's like putting a handful of dirt in his mouth," said Dr. Tom Glass, a microbiologist.

Mouth guards look solid, but are actually porous. That makes them flexible, but also encourages bacterial growth, from staph to strep to pneumococci.

"Not only are we worried about the effect right there in the mouth, we're worried about the effect in the lungs, with exercise-induced asthma from molds, and we're worried about the bacteria in the stomach that will produce toxins that will cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea," said Dr. Glass.

And researchers say if the mouthpiece cuts the tissue of the mouth, germs can get into the bloodstream, which is even worse.

"We have found staphlycoccus aureus in the mouth guards that are methicillin resistant and, of course, this can be a fatal episode," said Dr. Glass.

But mouth guards are important, helping prevent not just tooth damage, but other facial injuries. So what should you do? Experts say rinsing a mouth guard, even boiling it, isn't enough. Their best advice:

"Change the mouth guard at least once every two weeks. Simply throw it away," said Glass.

At about $2 each, that's a easy solution.

Dr. Glass is now conducting a new study looking into the best way to store mouth guards, and if there's an effective way to kill bacteria. Results are expected in May.