Your teeth and jaw alignment and enhanced performance

Today I was at my 6 month dental check-up and they told me there was some enamel issues on my bottom teeth from grinding. I've been told about this for years and thought they meant I grind at night, which I'm pretty sure I don't do or am sceptical about whether it is true. She saw my Road ID braclet and found out I was a somewhat serious athlete and suggested I look into a mouthpiece during my running. At first I balked at the idea thinking how goofy and cumbersome that would be. She gave me a brochure for armourbite.com to research on my own. She said it could cost $500 for custom fitting a performance inhancing one. When I checked out the website I was compelled to at least give it a try, but not for $500-$2000. When I went to "check out" it rang up $29.99 for the non-contact version. The chat guy said if I have no bridges or custom orthodontics it should be easily fitted myself. So I 'm going for it. It seems very non-bulky and is supposed to help keep the jaw in a relaxed position to maintain optimum breathing as well as neck and shoulder positioning. Hey, I'll try anything that helps plus it will preserve my enamel since they said if I continue grinding I will have cracked teeth eventually. Hopefully I won't need the custom fitting one since the insurance won't cover it. Maybe I could petition for it to be considered preventative healthcare by the Obama administration! Anyone else heard or tried this. Here's a link: http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/armourbite

Don't know if it'll help with your running, but it might help cure you of the shanks, Roy McAvoy.



Let us know if it works!

I have a few dentist friends that have been pushing this for years. Much like the powerbands. Anyway, the science behind it is unproven but the theory is it opens up your windpipe more with proper alignment, thus more air, thus more oxygen, thus better performance. Hey, even placebos have their place. Go for it. Would like to know how it works out.

There was an article in the NY Times (I think) about these things a ways back but I think it focussed on the custom made ones. But the article was pretty convincing that they provide some kind of oxygen intake boost that translates to noticeably faster times. I'll hunt around and see if I can find it. I'll be interested to see what you think of the one you got.



EDIT - FOUND IT
New York Times
December 17, 2009
Fitness

A Device to De-Stress Your Workout

By SARAH BOWEN SHEA

AFTER a night that included several beers and not enough sleep, Keith Gillis, a 31-year-old cyclist in Truro, Nova Scotia, set out on a 74-mile road ride with the caveat that he was feeling fatigued. Yet two-thirds of the way through the ride, Mr. Gillis said, he was setting the pace, riding ahead of his cycling partner. “Even though I’d felt tired at the start, I had the energy to lead, and I wasn’t out of breath,” he said.

To what did he attribute his stamina? A flexible mouth guard by a Canadian company called Makkar that he has been biting on while riding since April. When fellow cyclists ask him why he isn’t winded when they are, Mr. Gillis tells them, “because I have my Superman guard in.”

Mr. Gillis is among a small but growing number of athletes wearing what manufacturers like to call “performance mouthpieces” while cycling, running or weight training. One of the newest tools in a performance-enhancement arsenal, these mouthpieces are light, flexible pieces of molded plastic that fit over the teeth — and are only vaguely reminiscent of that retainer from junior high school or the bulky mouth guards worn by football players.

Dentists say these high-end mouth guards can open up the airways, prevent teeth-clenching and align the jaw. Being able to take in more air while exercising has obvious benefits — more oxygen for working muscles — while a relaxed jaw can decrease stress and help an athlete’s body function more efficiently.

“There is research to support improved breathing mechanics and reduced jaw fatigue,” said Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. “Depending on how you look at it, there is some truth to the claims.”

Unlike regular mouth guards, which are available off the shelf and at modest prices, performance mouthpieces cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars and must be custom-fitted by a dentist. Ordinary mouth guards are usually dropped in boiling water and fitted to the wearer’s teeth to protect against injury. With performance mouth guards, the idea is to reposition the jaw, anywhere from a few millimeters to, in the case of Mr. Gillis, a quarter of an inch sideways.

Two main brands are on the market — Makkar and Under Armour — and each makes the claim that it can increase an athlete’s strength, reduce stress and improve overall performance. Professional athletes have taken note: during the World Series this year, television viewers could see Derek Jeter wearing a mouthpiece made by Bite Tech, the company that developed the technology that Under Armour uses. In early November, Jon Gruden of ESPN said on “Monday Night Football” that many of the New Orleans Saints wore Makkar mouth guards.

The Makkar Pure Power Mouthguard (or PPM, as the company calls it) was introduced in 2006 and costs from $595 to $2,250, not counting the dentist’s fee. Makkar’s Web site touts the mouth guard’s use in diverse sports, including golf, soccer, swimming and tennis, and includes endorsements by the basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and the football player Terrell Owens.

Under Armour’s line of Performance Mouthwear was introduced in September with a basic price of $495. Among the professionals who wear them are Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings and Marian Gaborik of New York Rangers.

There is a big difference between the two brands: While the Makkar product must be gripped between the upper and lower teeth, the Under Armour one sits only on the lower teeth. But both are meant to set the jaw at ease.

“When you have the jaw in relaxed position, the rest of the body can be more relaxed — it’s a domino effect,” said Kathrina Agatep, a dentist in San Diego who sells both brands.

Repositioning the jaw is not the same as keeping the jaw slack while exercising. “Even if you have your mouth open when you run, that doesn’t necessarily mean the joint and rest of your body is in the maximal alignment,” Dr. Agatep said.

While the products’ potential benefits may sound good, it isn’t clear how much of an edge they actually confer. A study sponsored by Makkar in 2008 at Rutgers University found that athletes wearing Pure Power Mouthguards could jump higher and perform better at their peak, but it did not find that their endurance was any better.

“There wasn’t a huge difference,” said Shawn Arent, an assistant professor in the department of exercise science at Rutgers who led the study. “It’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s not magic. But for an elite athlete who has been training for a long time, even a 3, 4 or 5 percent increase in performance is a hard thing to come by.”

Similar research by Under Armour and Bite Tech with athletes at the Citadel, a military college, showed that using the mouth guards helped improve endurance and air flow.

Dena Garner, an assistant professor at the Citadel who has studied athletes using Bite Tech devices since 2005, said she thought some of her original findings were “a fluke.” But “every time I’ve done lactate studies with this mouthpiece, I’m finding there is a difference,” she said.

This year Captain Garner used an Under Armour mouthpiece while training for a marathon. Previously she “had been happy with running 10-minute miles,” she said, but wearing the mouthpiece, she consistently ran a mile in as little as 8 minutes. “It was pretty astounding to me,” she said. “I didn’t feel as tired as when I ran the 10-minute-per-mile pace.”

Clenching the teeth can lead to the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which, at excessive levels, can impede athletic performance. Having the Under Armour product in place “interrupts that flight-or-fight response,” said Bob Molhoek, chief executive of Bite Tech.

The problem I have with the entire theory is that the limiting factor in aerobic excerise isn't the available oxygen, it's the utilization of it. Once the oxygen gets into the lungs, your limit is how much the lungs can transport to the blood, how much oxygen the red blood cells can transport to the muscles, and how much can be utilized in the cells to convert glucose to energy (via mitochondria and the Krebs' cycle). If you inhale and exhale, and the exhale contains oxygen, then you aren't taking all of the oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream. Just because you 'breathe better' doesn't mean you get more oxygen into the blood, to the muscles, or use it to help convert sugar to energy... so, what is it actually doing?

My whole purpose is one of teeth grinding, so hey, if it keeps me from the clench tension and I get some more additional benefits, great. I would definitely not pay the $595+ for a glorified mouthpiece, but $29.99 is worth it. I'll just need to use it when dealing with my 14 and 16 year old children during those clenching episodes

Mr MattM wrote:The problem I have with the entire theory is that the limiting factor in aerobic excerise isn't the available oxygen, it's the utilization of it. Once the oxygen gets into the lungs, your limit is how much the lungs can transport to the blood, how much oxygen the red blood cells can transport to the muscles, and how much can be utilized in the cells to convert glucose to energy (via mitochondria and the Krebs' cycle). If you inhale and exhale, and the exhale contains oxygen, then you aren't taking all of the oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream. Just because you 'breathe better' doesn't mean you get more oxygen into the blood, to the muscles, or use it to help convert sugar to energy... so, what is it actually doing?

Yep, but people always look for short cut. Jerry instead is going for a tempo.

Jerry wrote:

Mr MattM wrote:The problem I have with the entire theory is that the limiting factor in aerobic excerise isn't the available oxygen, it's the utilization of it. Once the oxygen gets into the lungs, your limit is how much the lungs can transport to the blood, how much oxygen the red blood cells can transport to the muscles, and how much can be utilized in the cells to convert glucose to energy (via mitochondria and the Krebs' cycle). If you inhale and exhale, and the exhale contains oxygen, then you aren't taking all of the oxygen from the lungs into the bloodstream. Just because you 'breathe better' doesn't mean you get more oxygen into the blood, to the muscles, or use it to help convert sugar to energy... so, what is it actually doing?

Yep, but people always look for short cut. Jerry instead is going for a tempo.

me too Jerry!

So Steve -- any update?

Yes, I've found that I need to carry it in my car during traffic back-ups since I noticed myself grinding at those times. I have used it during runs and kind of noticed I don't grind at those times anyway, since I'm more focused on breathing and not clenching my teeth. As far as it keeping the jaw aligned correctly I believe that may be more of a marketing ploy.

I have worn a custom bite plate, off and on, for years at night for clenching. My dentist has been trying to get me to try wearing it in my runs, but I have resisted. Maybe I'll give it a shot.