A MOUTHGUARD TO IMPROVE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Can Mouthguards Impact Athletic Performance?
Let me address the following points before you continue:
1. To date, no published independent study has verified the positive effect of mouthguards and performance. However they have also shown to not have any negative effect on human performance.
2. The ASD ( Academy for Sports Dentistry ) Position Statement on use of Mouthguards and other Oral Appliances for Performance of Enhancement and Strength.
a. The Academy for Sports Dentistry (ASD) has not yet (2011) identified any sound, independently peer-reviewed, published scientific research which either supports or refutes the wearing of any type of mouthguard or oral appliance for athletic performance and strength enhancement. The Academy for Sports Dentistry supports continued validated scientific research on the issue of performance enhancement.
Approved by the Academy for Sports Dentistry Board of DIrectors 1/27/2011
Let us address store bought Boil/Bite Mouthguards and Our Custom-Fit Pressure Laminated Mouthguards:
1. Most everybody involved "in" and "playing" high school sports has an "aversion" to the "contraption" we call a mouthguard. However it is mandatory in Football, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey and Lacrosse.\
2. Boil/Bite Mouthguards as you see at the games you attend, your athletes are "struggling" to keep them in their mouths.
3. It is the result of "user error" during the formation process which can result in inconsistent thickness, poor fit and inadequate retention.
4. Mouthguard perception becomes mouthguard reality. The athletes, at least I have worked with, have told me as follows. You struggle to keep it in your mouth, when you can't keep it in you "fish hook it", you try cutting the backs off, you chew on it, you can't wait to spit it out after play has stopped, you can't hydrate with it, you can't talk with it, you can't beathe properly with it.
It is the "inability to breathe properly" as a result of an "ill-fitting" mouthguard that will "hasten fatigue" especially as your athlete logs more playing minutes during a game.
A. I'd like to add that Boil/Bite mouthguards that I've seen recently are getting better. The key to a good mouthguard is one that fits properly and doesn't dislodge upon impact. If your boil/bite mouthguard is working this way for you then a custom mouthguard is optional from my perspective. However, you still just don't see enough of them.
Here are a few examples of boil/bite mouthguards:
99% of mouthguards worn today are boil/bite store bought because they are less expensive.
5. Our Custom-Fit Pressure Laminated Mouthguards conform to their mouths because we make the mouthguards over a dental cast from an impression, our mouthguards as a result of the retentive fit do not dislodge from impact, have a balanced bite to distribute forces more evenly upon contact, you can hydrate, talk and it makes it easier to breathe because you don't have to manage something that is moving in your mouth because it doesn't fit properly.
6. Our goal to try to make some positive differences in your strength, flexibility, balance, range of motion and to enhance oxygen flow by an increased airway space. However we are cognizant that published studies to date are not congruent to what our athletes are reporting.
With that now said:
Can Mouthguards Impact Athletic Performance?
We have found in our preliminary projects
that we undertook with high school players
to evaluate about our mouthguard that:
Note: Field Hockey, Ice Hockey and Lacrosse were the sports we got involved in:
1. Most replied there was a 1-3% improvement in play. A few replied there was a 3-5% improvment in play.
No one said it had a negative effect.
2. Athletes felt that it was just part of their uniform/equipment after 1-3 practices/games.
3. Athletes reported overwhelming COMPLIANCE
4. The most general recurrent comments related to it being "easier to breathe" and an improvement in fatigur resistance especially at the end of a game.
Read more comments "What athletes have written"
5. We have found Growth and Development to play a significant role which limits performance objective if you are under 16 1/2 years old and even more limited if you are younger.
7. We also found that the high school athlete who was more serious in intensity, attitude and focus driven about preparing for their sport, putting the time in, strength and conditioning etc. (such as our NCAA
Division I - II - III recruited athletes) tested best.
8. Athletes although not recruited but intensely dedicated to putting the time in to prepare themselves for their sports season definitely tested better in our office.
9. Watching the many games during these projects that I've been involved with I can say without a doubt that there are so many factors that go into winning games to make it to the Districts or Championship that mouthguards do not win or lose games, all they do is give you with all thing being equal a competitive edge because you are wearing a better mouthguard.
10. I can tell you and this only happens after winning a title or championship. I am only at such games if by circumstances that enough key players from the same team are wearing our mouthguard. There are always a bunch of parents from the team that will come up to me after the game ( only if it is a win) and say to me, "Doc those mouthguards of your really do work". My reply is always the same "mouthguards don't win or lose games they only give you a better competitive edge over your opponents wearing someone elses mouthguards"
It takes months of preparation to prime an athlete for competition. It involves attitude, perserverance, rigorous training, practice time, nutrition and hydration regime, strength and conditioning, physical therapy especially as it relates to posture, balance, the influence of the muscle patterning and kinetematic body movement necessary for your sport. Your head coach and assistant coaches expertise, understanding what it takes to win and the studying of your opponent's strategies and how they might execute their game plan against you. The role of your certified athletic trainer with respect to preventive services, clinical evaluation of
diagnosis, immediate treatment care, rehabilitation, recovery and reconditioning. "It truly takes a village" to get a team ready to compete.
You are now in your best shape for game-time execution to succeed.
Still with that said - Can it be improved upon?
If you have a malocclusion resulting in dysfunction related to the Teeth, TMJ and Muscles of Mastication then dysfunctional movement can show up elsewhere in the body to affect full body movement.
Our goal is to improve upon what your coaches, athletic trainers and fitness personel have prepared you for your first game.
Most games are won or lost in the last 5-10 minutes of the last half, 5-10 minutes of the final period or the last 3 innings of the game.
If you are in better strength and conditioning shape than your opponents during this critical time period of the game to be "stronger" at the end, so by adding to your already full "TOOLBOX", a new mouthguard to better your physiological state may help put you in a better position to execute with the game on the line.
We know the goal is:
"First" to play to your potential and do your best to be focused and then you will have a successful season. "Second" to make the Districts.
"Third" to win a Central Mass Title.
It all starts months before the season even begins. We know it takes a team approach that "village". But should mouthguards even be part of that role, even in sports where they are not mandatory.
We utilize MORA Theory in the Form of a Type IV Mouthguard taking into consideration:
Your Age: It works best we find if you are at least 16 1/2 years old
Dental Occlusion
TMJ
Body Asymmetry
Cranio-Mandibular-Cervical Relationship as it relates to Posterior Rotation of the Cranium
We prefer athletes bring their current mouthguards so that we can pre-test and post test to see if our device works better. We believe it makes no sense to purchase a new mouthguard if you do not need to. Why even consider changing from your current mouthguard if it is working best for you and your sport?
What these videos below show is that:
1. The mouthguard as the only variable in the exercises is all that alters the athlete's ability to facilitate better these exercises.
2. The mouthguard as the only variable in the exercises is all that is changing the skeletal and muscular physiology of the athlete.
Proceed to watch the videos below:
Proceed to watch the videos below:
If you are interested in more information please Click Here to e-mail us your information:
- Under appointment information select "Other" to describe the nature of your appointment include: childs name, your sport, your age (athletes should at least 16 1/2 yo) and we will get back to you.
Procedure For Mouthguard:
1. If you are under 18 yo you must be accompanied by a parent.
2. You must fill out a Health History.
3. Be pre-tested to see if you are a good candidate for mouthguard.
4. Oral examination followed by dental impression of your teeth.
5. Return in 2-3 weeks:
6. Fitted with mouthguard
7. Testing criteria with or without your current Boil/Bite mouthguards
8. Leave with mouthguard.
THE FIRST 100 Worcester Telegram & Gazette MOUTHGUARDS are $125.00.
We are initially focusing on high school athletes who are required to wear mouthguards which for spring sports is Lacrosse.
Click here to view: Dr. Portnoy's Patient Videos
