Mouth Guards. Hmm..

[livelavalive]

For the past four and a half months I've been taking boxing classes and we've been getting into the ring lately for sparring.
Although we wear helmets (padded headgear) we have been advised to get a mouth guard for down the road when the helmets won't be used.

My Essix retainers have been wearing out and I hate getting impressions as some of you know. Apparently to get a good fitting mouth guard you just have to boil water and let it form to your teeth. Hopefully you know where I'm going with this.

No, I'm not talking about a complete replacement. Since I was advised to have retainer wear for at least two years and I'm only 8 months through it, I want to be cautious of how often I use them. (In case of a break/wear and tear.)

The thread is getting a bit long. What I'm trying to get at is: Could a good fitting mouth guard act as a temporary retainer? They're thicker than Essix retainers are.
I can already imagine the "no" responses but tell me what you think.
In my mind I don't see why not.

[ports]

A mouth guard isn't solid. It's rubber.. so it will give if your teeth want to move.. like when someone punches you in the mouth.. the mouth guard is there to help absorb the blow and movement... if it were a solid piece of plastic, it'd frigging hurt as much as getting hit without it.