Mouthpieces are your a part of your lifeline, and for a small piece of plastic/rubber, they can really make a big difference to your experienced. By making the regulator sit more comfortably in your mouth, you reduce the effort needed to hold it in place, ultimately reducing jaw fatigue and reducing the overall wear and tear on the mouthpiece, meaning it will last much longer.
Cleaning your mouthpiece
There are a couple of ways that I like to clean my mouthpiece:
Toothbrush and toothpaste
the first method is to use a toothbrush and some toothpaste, and give them a good old scrub to get all the gunk out of them.
Mouthwash
From time to time, I’ll take my mouthpiece off and leave it soak in mouthwash, make sure that it is antiseptic, as this will remove some of the microbial build up on your mouthpiece. The bonus is that it leaves your mouthpiece minty fresh.
Size matters – not all regulators are made equal
Before you buy a new mouthpiece, make sure you check the size of opening on your regulator. I found out the hard way that they are different sizes, and I had to heat up my mouthpiece in order to soften it up to be able to fit it onto the regulator. Most regulators are a similar size, however I do know that Apeks is larger than most, and therefore not all mouthpieces fit it.
Zip ties and attaching your mouthpiece
While most people just put a zip tie onto their mouthpiece, there is a “proper” way to put them on. You always want the ratchet/lock and loose end facing the hose. Why? Well, the idea is that if you have a regulator where you can adjust the pre-dive/dive mode and the flow rate, that you don’t want to be cutting your fingers up on the cable tie. The chances of that happening are pretty low but it removes the risk of it completely, no one likes an annoying little cut on their finger.
If you are looking at your mouthpiece and the opening (so its in the right orientation for you to put it into your mouth), the ratchet/lock should be on the upper right corner of the groove, and the loose end will go wrap underneath and then over the top of the mouthpiece. Once it’s tightened up, the cable tie ratchet/lock will be on the hose side of the regulator.
After you’ve trimmed off the excess, find something rough and file down the sharp edges of your cut cable tie. Typically, if I have pliers I’ll use the edge of those, or the file on a multi-tool such as a Swiss army knife or a weatherman.
Rubber/plastic quality
When you’re buying a mouthpiece, particularly regular/non-moulded ones, the stiffness of the rubber/plastic matters a lot. If you can, have a feel of the mouthpiece, it should have some firmness to it. The firmness will help the mouthpiece hold its shape and the mouthpiece in your mouth without distorting the shape of the mouthpiece or having it feel flimsy in your mouth. If it feels like you could bite through it in one go, then the plastic is too soft.
Moulded
I love moulded mouthpieces for my primary regs, however I will still have a “standard” mouthpiece on my occy so that it’s usable for anyone without being totally uncomfortable. As you might have already guessed, moulded mouthpieces aren’t so great for sharing, so this is a consideration if you’re using an Oceanic Air XS 2 or a Scubapro Air 2 system, where you donate your primary and switch to your occy/inflator assembly.
I’ve tried a few different brands of mouldable mouthpieces, and honestly my favourite was a generic one that I bought in Thailand. What I found was that when I went to mould it the plastic was super soft and took the imprint of my teeth really well. It was also a narrower design, compared to something like SeaCure mouthpieces.
I’m not a super fan of the SeaCure mouthpieces, I found that they didn’t mould as well, and the shape of them didn’t fit my mouth that well, that’s not to say that they aren’t good mouthpieces. I found that they don’t feel like they lock in as well as ones that are super pliant.
On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve bought mouldable mouthpieces that pretty much didn’t mould at all. They help the imprint for a few days, and eventually went back to their original shape. To be honest, there was no real way to tell that they would do that. Thankfully, they were super cheap.
Tips:
- When you mould do it with all the plugs in – the one for the regulator and the 2 in the body of the mouthpiece. Once you’re done moulding you can take them all out.
- There is an up and a down. This is usually printed on the mouthpiece, make sure you follow them.
- If you mould the mouthpiece and it doesn’t feel right, you can re-mould it simply by putting it back into hot water and softening it again.
- Sometimes the mouthpiece is too long to fit into your mouth. If you need to, do an initial setting of the mouthpiece to see where your back molars are, and then trim the mouthpiece down to that size, and then re-mould them to your mouth
ComfoBite / Bridged
I first discovered ComfoBite mouthpieces when I bought a set of Apeks regs. These are my second choice behind the mouldable mouthpieces. The “bridge” provides a bit of extra structure and grip to the mouthpiece and helps it sit well in your mouth, and because of the position of the bridge, it doesn’t restrict the airflow when you breath so it’s a huge win. However, it’s not for everyone. I know people who don’t like them because of the way it feels in their mouth.
I’ve tried a few different brands, and the Apeks ones are the ones I like the best because of the quality of the plastic/rubber that they use, firm and still soft enough to fit well in your mouth.
Conclusion
We all have our individual preferences on what is comfortable and because mouthpieces are relatively cheap, I’d recommend trying a few different styles with your diving. I know some people who hate Comfobite mouthpieces and prefer the more traditional style because it just feels better. Others will have reasons why they don’t use moulded mouthpieces, particularly if their gear set up means they can donate from any of their hoses. Pick what is the most comfortable for you.
Happy diving.