This is something you can keep in mind when choosing a mouth guard

One of the most important aspects for those who wear mouth protection is hand hygiene. 

- If you watch TV features where people wear masks, you see how many people are sitting and adjusting their mouth guards with their hands, pulling them down when they do not want to wear them and pulling them up again. Then the virus gets on the hands, and the hands are the best tools to spread infection with, says Åsa Melhus, professor of clinical bacteriology at Uppsala University. 

Åsa Melhus explains that you should never touch your mouthguard, and that when removing and putting on only touch the straps or loops. After use, the mask should be discarded and immediately placed in a plastic bag so that no one comes in contact with it.

Fabric masks can be washed and reused, but according to Åsa Melhus, it is required that a fabric mask has between six and twelve layers in order for it to provide proper protection. 

One thing to keep an eye on if you buy a mask is if the product is CE marked. 

- The CE marking is a standard we have in Europe which means that the product maintains the quality you want. If it says "CE", the product has passed an inspection, otherwise this can be anything. 

Can you be sure that a CE-marked product protects against viruses?

- No, but you guarantee that the product lives up to its promise.

The simplest type of protection is the standard mouth protection. They are often light blue and are recognizable from healthcare. According to Åsa Melhus, they mostly work as a splash guard that prevents you from infecting others. 

But if you want something that protects you too, then you need a breathing mask. The masks are available in the protection classes FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3. The higher the number, the higher the fiber density of the mask and thus also the protection.  

- It is important to know how the breathing masks are to be used, the higher level you are at, the more important it is to know how to handle them. Otherwise, they are no better than a regular mouth guard. It must fit well and you can not have a respirator with a beard, because then it leaks.