Dentist Claims Device Enhances Athletic Performance

Dentist Claims Device Enhances Athletic Performance

A local neuromuscular dentist has joined a network of more than 200 dentists nationwide who offer the Pure Power mouth guard, a device they claim can improve athletic performance.

Dr. Etienne van Zyl, a sole practitioner in Germantown, said the device works by allowing the jaw and neck muscles to relax completely, which in turn opens athletes’ airways. The result is improved strength, balance and flexibility, he said.

“What we’ve found is that the muscles of the head have two functions,” van Zyl said. “The first one is to be able to chew … and the other job that they have that people tend to overlook is that they’re also responsible for positioning the jaw so that when you swallow, your teeth come together.”

Even though the teeth come together, it doesn’t mean the muscles will be in a relaxed state, van Zyl said. But by placing the mouth guard between the teeth, it helps achieve relaxation.

About 90 percent of people don’t have a complete alignment of the jaw, van Zyl said.

“It’s almost like the rein on a horse,” he said. “The muscles that sit in your temples – the two muscles that bulge when people chew gum – are responsible for reigning the lower jaw in like you would do with a horse, with the rein.

“When the jaw relaxes, the muscles in the neck and other core muscles don’t fight each other anymore because they’re bracing … and now you have better flexibility, and of course, better balance. All that stuff comes instantly with a piece of plastic that goes in between the teeth.”
Jury’s out

So far, the only testimonials for the device have come from athletes who say they wear the mouth guard.

Canada-based Pure Power Athletics Inc. markets the mouth guard, and on its Web site Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Michael Redd is shown demonstrating the device.

“I’m Michael Redd, entering my ninth season in the NBA,” he says while working out. He goes on to say how he heard about the product from his trainer. “I found out this mouth guard is really serious and it’s been wonderful as far as my flexibility.”

Several other videos feature professionals from other sports making similar claims.

Paul Fitzgerald, director of public relations for Pure Power Athletics Group, said the results of a scientific study should be out in the next few weeks proving the claims being made about the mouth guard.

“(The study is) being done at one of the United States’ biggest research universities,” Fitzgerald said, declining to give the name of the university. “Everything’s being kept sort of confidential, the subjects know they’re being tested about this device, but we just haven’t released any details in order to not interfere with any part of the research. But I can say confidently that we’ve gotten some results back and they look fantastic.”

Fitzgerald added the company has testimonials from more than 1,000 collegiate and amateur and 200 professional athletes.
Marketing vs. evidence

Dr. Anil Makkar, a Canadian-based neuromuscular dentist, invented the mouth guard after attending classes at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dentistry.

“It’s an institute that teaches dentists how to treat people and reposition their jaw so their jaw muscles are calm,” van Zyl said. “And then the headaches, and the neck aches and the backaches, all that stuff goes away. Because the pain is directly attributed to muscle tension in the head.”

Van Zyl said more than 40 years of research supports the effectiveness of the mouth guard.

The device actually is similar to one that was supposed to offer the same results.

The MORA (mandibular orthopedic repositioning appliance) was all the rage during the early 1980s. After reports that the device could enhance athletes’ performance, the American Dental Association conducted strength tests on 14 Louisville football players. At the conclusion of the study, the ADA found the MORA had no effect on muscular strength.


Source: http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=38630