Maybe it's teething memory, or the id-transforming monster-fantasy value, or maybe it's just having played hockey with a clear rubber mouthpiece in place against the blows for a couple of adolescent years, but I connect with something very deep when I put in a set of these. They were plain white (but secretly day-glo) polyvinyl plastic when I was a kid. Now they come in neons, but they still bestow power, scare value, whenever you slip them in. It's hard to be grumpy wearing these.