Maine high school soccer players won’t have to wear mouth guards to go on to the pitch this fall.

The Maine Principles’ Association announced Wednesday that it is dropping the mouth guard requirement, overturning a rule that had been in place since 1999.

The recommendation came from the Maine Soccer Coaches Association, which had tried to have the rule overturned for several years. The MPA Sports Medicine Committee voted to revise the rule and the proposal got sent to the MPA Interscholastic Management Committee which voted Wednesday morning to lift the requirement.

A news release sent by the MPA on Wednesday said the coaches association “cited a number of reasons, including a lack of evidence that mouth guards reduce concussion risk, sanitary issues from improper care of the mouth guards, lack of consistency in enforcement of proper mouth guard use, and players not keeping them in their mouths or chewed to the point that they offer little protection of the teeth.”

The coaches association’s request was to “strongly encourage the use of mouth guards, but not require them.”

Though it not long requires mouth guards, the MPA encourages soccer players players to wear them.

“It is important for schools to know that the MPA strongly recommends that soccer players continue to wear a well-fitted mouth guard to help prevent oral injuries,” the news release said.