Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physiological responses associated with various forms of exercise (cardiovascular endurance, anaerobic power, strength, and flexibility) using two different mouth pieces compared to using no mouthpiece. Improved performance may significantly reduce the risk of concussions by allowing an athlete to better prepare, react, absorb, and/or avoid impact all together compared to the restricted breathing or mandibular instability that occurs when not using any mouthwear or using traditional single impression custom mouthguards. METHODS: Twenty-five, fully informed, subjects participated in this IRB approved study. Twenty-three subjects completed predicted max VO2 (1.5 mile run), sit and reach flexibility, anaerobic endurance, and leg and bench press tests under three conditions. Subjects performed each test battery with either a custom fitted PX3 Bite Regulator, a custom fitted mouth guard, or no mouthpiece. The order of the testing conditions was randomized and there was at least 24 hours between each testing condition. Results between conditions were analyzed using ANOVA and t-tests. RESULTS: The bite regulator resulted in significantly faster 1.5 mile run times (667±18 vs. 684±18 vs. 679±19s, p<0.05) and longer anaerobic endurance runs (286±20 vs. 259±16 vs. 263±16m, p<0.05) compared to the mouth guard and no mouthpiece runs, respectively. There were improvements, but no significant differences in flexibility (16.7±0.8 vs. 15.9±0.8 vs. 16.4±.7in, p=0.73), bench press lifts (17.9±1.7 vs. 17.2±1.6 vs. 17.4±1.6lifts, p = 0.94), or leg press lifts (50.5±4.4 vs. 46.4±4.4 vs. 47.0±3.7lifts, p = 0.75), between the bite regulator, mouth guard, or no mouth piece respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The bite regulator resulted in improved performance, to varying degrees, in each category. This could be a result of better jaw alignment or decreased resistance to air flow. Several subjects commented that the traditional mouth guard had too much material and restricted their breathing, while the bite regulator was more comfortable and felt very similar to having nothing in their mouth. All but one subject felt better while exercising with the bite regulator compared to the mouthguard.
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