Dental Education & Research

Which mouthguard?….. It’s all about the bite!

Author Dr Raj Raveendranathan (BDS, Ph.D, Dip. N.M.Orthodontics, Dip. Dental Sleep Medicine, Diplomate in Orthodontics, FAACP, FICCMO, Bangalore, India) is a...

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Founder & Chief Dentist · Indira Dental Clinic; DentalReach

3 min read67,275 views
  • posture
  • professional education
  • dentistry
  • occlusion
  • performance enhancement
  • sports dentistry
  • mouthguard
  • neuromuscular dentistry
  • Dental Education & Research
  • Clinical & Academic Article
Author Dr Raj Raveendranathan (BDS, Ph.D, Dip. N.M.Orthodontics, Dip. Dental Sleep Medicine, Diplomate in Orthodontics, FAACP, FICCMO, Bangalore, India) is a Neuromuscular Dentistry specialist, Director of ICCMO-India Section, Secretary of ICCMO International and Chairman of Rite Bite Craniofacial Pain Centre chain of clinics, India. Dr Raj is a Keynote Speaker at the DentalReach Conference & Awards (DRDCA) 22: Sports Dentistry Edition. Brochure & Registration Link: Click here

A 2-in-1 mouthguard

There are hundreds of types of mouthguards or sports appliances out there. Every day a specialist wakes up one day and says, “EUREKA …. I have discovered a new mouthguard!” Which one do we select? Is it all about the design? Of course, the design of the mouthguard is important. But what if we can provide more than just a “GUARD”?
What if we can incorporate the aspect of PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT into the mouthguard? A mouth guard that can protect the oral tissues as well as help improve your performance!

It’s all in the bite.

The way your teeth occlude decides the overall posture and balance of the person. The second before an athlete delivers all his/her might into the sporting activity they are into, the teeth go into MIP. If the MIP is unbalanced, then that imbalance cascades into a downward spiral that would affect the posture and hence the performance of that person. It maybe in fractions, but that’s all that’s needed to win the elusive gold. The TMJ forms the most superior joint in the postural chain of the body. And the occlusion decides the function and anatomy of the TMJ. But which bite? Phonetic Bite? CR Bite? Muscle Facilitation Test Bite? Dynamic Decompression Bite? K7 Nm Bite? Chan Bite? Anterior Jig Bite? Unfortunately, there are no research papers yet to prove this.

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Topics

References

  1. [1]Popovici C, et al.. Dental Splints and Sport Performance: A Review of the Current Evidence Peer-reviewed sports dentistry literature. 2025. Available at: source
  2. [2]Gould TE, et al.. Mouthguards in dentistry: Current recommendations for dentists Dental Traumatology. 2021. Available at: source

Written by

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Dr. Rockson Samuel

Founder & Chief Dentist · Indira Dental Clinic; DentalReach

Dr. Rockson Samuel is a dental surgeon, healthcare content strategist, and Founder and Chief Dentist of Indira Dental Clinic in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. He provides comprehensive general and family dental care with professional interests in endodontics, implant dentistry, clear aligner therapy, digital dentistry, preventive care and patient education. A graduate of K.G.F. College of Dental Sciences and Hospital under Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, he also has formal training in management and digital marketing. As Community Leader at DentalReach, he contributes to dental publishing, professional education, international media partnerships and the development of evidence-informed resources for dentists.

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