A new dental mouthguard is being hailed in the States as an unusual performance-booster and a vital key to any athlete’s success.
Makers of the Pure Power Edge boast that it improves body alignment, strength, balance, flexibility and endurance.
That seems like an incredible claim, but athletes are buying it at a cost of $900 to amateurs and $1,700 to professionals.
The key to the PPE’s success lies in neuromuscular dentistry and the belief that jaw alignment can have a major effect on the rest of the body.
According to the Canada-based company that markets the PPE, the jaw is not in its optimal position for 90% of the population – an overbite in most cases.
Experts say the brain spends half of its energy on head, neck and jaw position, and by finding the ideal jaw position and locking it in place with a fitted mouthguard, strength is released to the rest of the body because the brain can focus more on core muscles.
Endurance improves because the PPE opens up the airway and allows for better circulation and oxygen flow.
When fitting athletes, the ideal jaw location is found by using low-frequency electronic pulses to relax the muscles in the head and neck so the jaw is in its natural resting position.
The patient is then hooked up to a computer and the bite registrations are analysed to find the strongest bite.
A mould is taken and sent to a lab, and the client receives the mouthguard in about 10 days.
