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Corrective Mouth Guards: Performance Aids or Expensive Placebos?
The Physician and Sportsmedicine
|July 22, 2016
Summary
A controversial theory suggests bite splints and mouth guards enhance athletic performance, sparking debate among professionals regarding dentists' role and sports mouth protection.
Area of Science:
- Sports Dentistry
- Dental Performance Enhancement
Background:
- The efficacy of athletic bite splints and corrective mouth guards for performance improvement is a subject of ongoing debate.
- This controversy highlights differing professional opinions on the role of dental interventions in sports.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the controversial theory linking bite splints and mouth guards to enhanced athletic performance.
- To examine the professional discourse surrounding dentists' involvement in sports performance and mouth protection.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing studies on athletic performance and oral appliances.
- Analysis of professional opinions and arguments regarding the use of mouth guards in sports.
- Examination of the scientific basis for claims of performance enhancement through dental devices.
Main Results:
- The current evidence supporting performance enhancement from bite splints and mouth guards is largely anecdotal and lacks robust scientific validation.
- Significant professional disagreement exists regarding the necessity and effectiveness of these devices beyond basic oral protection.
- The primary role of dentists in sports is predominantly viewed as injury prevention and ensuring proper oral health.
Conclusions:
- The theory of performance enhancement via bite splints and mouth guards remains controversial and requires further rigorous scientific investigation.
- Dentists' primary role in sports should focus on protective equipment and oral health, not unproven performance enhancement claims.
- Further research is needed to definitively establish any physiological benefits of specialized mouth guards on athletic performance.
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