ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE AND NEUROMUSCULAR MOUTHGUARDS

Protective mouthguards have been used for decades to protect the teeth from injury during competitive compact sports games, and to help prevent concussions. Even as far back as the 1960's, attempts were made to fabricate mouthguards that would serve that purpose as well as improve performance. About 10 years ago, Dr. Anil Makkar, a dentist in Truro Nova Scotia who practiced with a neuromuscular approach, developed a mouthguard that actually improved performance in many ways. It was found to improve arm strength, shoulder strength, balance, range of motion, in particular. People who wore the guard felt that it also improved their breathing during activity. Dr. Makkar ran training programmes to certify dentists to be able to make these mouthguards. I was trained at the time, in the method to fabricate these mouthguards which were called the "Pure Power Mouthguard" or PPM for short. The PPM quickly made its way into professional sport where a competitive edge can make an enormous difference to an athlete's results. These guards were worn by NHL hockey players, MLB baseball players, NFL football and NBA basketball teams. Even golfers on the PGA tour started to wear the PPM guard because they found that it gave them better balance, range of motion on their swing, and helped them develop more power in their swing. I will post a few videos which can be found on Youtube that give you some insight into the workings of the PPM. In 2009 the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl, and that year the entire team wore PPM's. Here is a short clip of the announcers being completely amazed at the performance of the Saints. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DygOtLQIvQ Many NBA players wore the PPM as well. Here is a video of Michael Redd going through the motions training with the help of the PPM. https://youtu.be/5elbrUUdd2A Mouthguards are very important for protection from injury for someone playing contact sports in particular. The performance guards add another dimension to the traditonal guard. For more information about this interesting mouthguard, feel free to ask us any questions you might have. Yours for better health and performance, Dr. Marty Frankel, 3030-3080 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3N1 416-770-8526