The Effects of a Customized Over-the-Counter Mouth Guard on Neuromuscular Force and Power Production in Trained Men and Women

Abstract

Although mouth guards were originally designed for injury prevention, even elite athletes are now using performance mouth guards to improve athletic success. Both expensive custom models and over-the-counter models are available, but the efficacy is not well known. Some athletes remain wary of the perceived potential for detriments using a mouth guard to their performance. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine various physical performance tests when using a mouth guard including a customized over-the-counter mouth guard. Twenty-six trained men (25 ± 4 years; 1.78 ± 0.07 m; 83.3 ± 11.4 kg) and 24 trained women (23 ± 3 years; 1.65 ± 0.08 m; 62.6 ± 7.8 kg) volunteered for the investigation. The subjects completed a familiarization period and then balanced and randomized treatment conditions that included: (a) a customized Power Balance performance mouth guard (PB MG); (b) a regular over the counter boil-and-bite mouth guard (Reg MG); and (c) a no mouth guard (No MG) treatment condition. At each visit, the subjects completed a testing protocol that was sequenced in the following order: sit-and-reach flexibility, medial-lateral balance, visual reaction time, vertical jump, 10-m sprint, bench throw, and plyo press power quotient (3PQ). Heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded around the 3PQ. Significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Expected significant sex differences existed for all power, strength, and speed variables. Bench throw power (watts) and force (newtons) were significantly higher under PB MG than either Reg MG or No MG or in both men and women. The 3PQ power and force production were higher than that for the other 2 treatments for the PB MG for men only. There were no significant differences for treatment conditions in the heart rate or RPE after the 3PQ test. Men were better able to maintain significantly higher 3PQ power production under PB MG treatment condition compared with the other 2 treatment conditions. Rate of power development was significantly higher in men for the vertical jump when using the PB MG compared with that for other treatment conditions in men only. No differences were observed in flexibility, balance, visual reaction time, or sprint time. The PB MG performance mouth guard improves performance of upper-body loaded power exercises in both men and women and lower body power exercise in men without compromising performance on any other performance parameters.

Intérêt des protège-dents pour l’amélioration des performances physiques et sportives : revue de 50 ans de recherche médicale

“…Le paramètre mesuré est la puissance maximale (Peak Power, PP). Des études montrent que le port d'un protège-dents de performance permet d'augmenter le PP mais aussi de l'atteindre plus rapidement et de le maintenir plus longtemps [9,17,18]. Cependant des résultats contraires ont également été publiés [19,20].…”

“…ont montré que le port de protège-dents de performance, réalisés selon les principes de la dentisterie neuromusculaire ou des dispositifs MORA, permettait d'améliorer les performances musculaires [3,4,16,17,[53][54][55] que ce soit en termes de :…”

Effects of sport-specific training conditions on performance in high school field hockey players.

“…Stock and self-adapted MGs are purchased over the counter, whereas custom-made MGs are made from a dental mold by a dentist or orthodontist 14,15,16,17 . If not enforced, most high school athletes choose not to wear any type of MG during either practice or competition 13,18 .…”

“…However, it has been found that when using self-adapted MGs, there is no difference in respiratory function, regardless of exercise intensity 6,14,18 . It also has been established through a number of studies that there are no performance decrements in any physiological parameter when a customized MG is used 6,7,14,17,18,20 .…”

“…It has been well established that wearing a self-adapted, 'boil-and-bite' MG creates greater force and power production during power exercises, especially in females 17,21,22 . This is especially useful in field hockey, as many aspects of the sport require quick power (sprinting) and force production (hitting the ball).…”