Mouthpieces

Hello there everyone, first post.I have been searching the Internet, and elsewhere, and I've heard anecdotal tales but no one has given me any solid evidence or word so I am hoping someone here has something that can help me.I have generalized tonic-clonic seizures and nonspecifically diagnosed epilepsy; it started at the age of 32 for no apparent reason and has been in abeyance thanks to Dilantin until just recently when I've been having grand mal seizures about once a month.The worst part about the whole thing for me (aside from the inability to drive) is the tongue injuries. Every time I have a seizure, I bite my tongue; leaving lasting injuries that take a while to heal, and make sleeping and eating a nightmare. I mostly eat yogurt and other soft foods but it's hard to get to sleep and it's a real painful experience.I tend to have a minute or two before the seizure to prepare; my aura has so far been pretty reliable as a predictor and I can get to a safe position on the floor before a seizure. What I want to know is, *can* I get a mouthpiece such as that used for football and other sports and place it in my mouth before a seizure without much risk? The "general wisdom" on seizure first aid is not to put anything in the person's mouth, and I can understand that--there are many things that would be very dangerous, that I might bite through. But I don't want these harsh tongue injuries, and am desperate to find a way to prevent them or ameliorate them in some way. A friend of mine who is a dental assistant got me a lidocaine mouthwash that I can use to dull the pain, but I'm looking to see if there's any way to PREVENT such injuries. Can anyone help?--Scott Roberts