Why do athletes chew on mouth guards?

The purpose of the mouth guards is to keep their teeth from being knocked out in a physical encounter. Why they chew on them, I don’t know, presumably it soothes anxiety or feels good.

I’ve never noticed any chewing on them. Perhaps what you take as chewing is just them adjusting the mouthguard.

It’s common for football players. I used to chew mine, when I played. I don’t know. I guess it was a fidgeting thing.

@janbb . They keep your teeth from going through your lips primarily. A good mouthpiece is actually a part of a combination of safety gear. It works in cohesion with the helmet, and shoulder pads/neck roll.

I always chewed my mouth guard. It relieved nervous tension like chewing gum. Plus, they are not that comfortable. Not that they hurt but I never liked having that object in my mouth, so any chance I had to get it out for a moment was taking a break from it. I took my helmet off every chance I had too.

The jaw and tongue are a huge set of muscles that require a lot of brain power; it is quite common for athletes to thrust their tongue out or engage with the mouth guard when concentrating on the game.

Same reason folks chew in pen caps, the arms of their glasses, etc. Nervous habit + easy access.