Copyright (c) 2010 Thomas GibbsDid you know an amazing benefit from a fitted custom mouthguard is that they can actually improve performance? The top athletes not only gain the best protection from mouthguards but also improve their game by wearing them! By aligning the jaw with the neck and spine properly, you have a greater range of motion and flexibility. Imagine it... all the other kids are out there competing against yours. What better way to make your child feel confident than to let him or her get the edge on the other kids? Being quicker and more accurate will help them truly excel. Here are the proven benefits from a proper, professionally prepared mouth guard:Increases Strength: With improved airflow and less stress from clenching, a professional quality mouthguard has been proven to increase strength.Increases Endurance: A custom mouthguard prepared a doctor enlarges airway openings, resulting in 25% less lactic acid build-up after 30 minutes of intense exercise.Speeds Up Reaction Time: Athletes may respond faster when wearing a professionally designed mouthguard. Clinical trials show an improvement in responding to auditory cues and potential improvement in response to visual cues.Reduces Athletic Stress: Excess cortisol causes stress, fatigue and distraction. A proper mouthguard decreases cortisol production, which means you feel & play better.Reduces Impact: When the jaw suffers an impact, energy can be transmitted to the head, which can cause concussion. Professional quality mouthguards have been shown to reduce the G-Force impact of blows to the jaw by up to 20%.Here's what Dr. John Stenger's report had to say about Mouthguards and CERVICAL INJURIES: Dr. John Stenger's classic 5-year clinical study on Notre Dame football players began in 1958 and was published in 1964. Dr. Stenger, the initiator of the concept of physiologic dentistry, based much of his work on that of James B. Costen, MD, a Washington University otolaryngologist. By means of before and after cephalometric radiographic tracings. Stenger demonstrated differences in the position of the mandibular condyle, the hyoid bone, and the cervical vertebrae (C2-C4) when the teeth were in centric occlusion versus when the bite was opened by a custom-made mouthguard to the vertical dimension of the freeway space (approximately 2-4 mm). In the spring of 1963, with the encouragement of then trainer Gene Paszkiet, a decision was made to equip the entire Notre Dame football team with a new model ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) mouthguard. As expected, the number of injuries to the teeth and jaws declined. There was also an impressive reduction in cerebral concussions. A serendipitous correlation between wearing the mouthguards and a decrease in neck injuries was an important finding. A reduction in the number of neck injuries was an unexpected result of wearing the mouthguards. Neck injuries had increased since the use of the face bar had become mandatory. So play it safe out there.
