BACKGROUND: Although there is evidence that mouthguards prevent orofacial trauma occurrence during sport practice, the influence of this device on athletic performance has not been systematically quantified. OBJECTIVES: We aim to systematically review the literature to determine the effect of mouthguards on athletic performance and if the type of mouthguard influences this overcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed in the Systematic Electronic Databases: Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from their inception to February 2017. The publications were grouped based on their outcome: (i) the use of mouthguards; or (ii) the type of mouthguards. We conducted descriptive analyses and quality assessments of the included studies. RESULTS: The search identified 489 citations. After screening the studies, we identified 15 trials comprising a population of 312 athletes. According to the risk of bias evaluation, nine studies were considered 'high' risk of bias, and six 'low' risk of bias. Overall, custom-made mouthguards did not interfere or improve athletes' performance when compared with the control group (without mouthguard). Custom-made mouthguards showed the smallest range of changes in players' performance compared with other types of mouthguards. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review provides evidence for sports professionals to advocate the use of custom-made mouthguards to prevent injury, and these devices do not impair performance. The scientific evidence should be interpreted carefully because there is a great variability in outcome measures and lack of important methodological details.
BACKGROUND: Although there is evidence that mouthguards prevent orofacial trauma occurrence during sport practice, the influence of this device on athletic performance has not been systematically quantified. OBJECTIVES: We aim to systematically review the literature to determine the effect of mouthguards on athletic performance and if the type of mouthguard influences this overcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed in the Systematic Electronic Databases: Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library from their inception to February 2017. The publications were grouped based on their outcome: (i) the use of mouthguards; or (ii) the type of mouthguards. We conducted descriptive analyses and quality assessments of the included studies. RESULTS: The search identified 489 citations. After screening the studies, we identified 15 trials comprising a population of 312 athletes. According to the risk of bias evaluation, nine studies were considered 'high' risk of bias, and six 'low' risk of bias. Overall, custom-made mouthguards did not interfere or improve athletes' performance when compared with the control group (without mouthguard). Custom-made mouthguards showed the smallest range of changes in players' performance compared with other types of mouthguards. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review provides evidence for sports professionals to advocate the use of custom-made mouthguards to prevent injury, and these devices do not impair performance. The scientific evidence should be interpreted carefully because there is a great variability in outcome measures and lack of important methodological details.
Authors: Courtenay Dunn-Lewis; Hui-Ying Luk; Brett A Comstock; Tunde K Szivak; David R Hooper; Brian R Kupchak; Ashley M Watts; Brendan J Putney; Jay R Hydren; Jeff S Volek; Craig R Denegar; William J Kraemer Journal: J Strength Cond Res Date: 2012-04 Impact factor: 3.775
Authors: C Maurer-Grubinger; I Avaniadi; F Adjami; W Christian; C Doerry; V Fay; V Fisch; A Gerez; J Goecke; U Kaya; J Keller; D Krüger; J Pflaum; L Porsch; C Wischnewski; B Scharnweber; P Sosnov; G Oremek; D A Groneberg; D Ohlendorf Journal: BMC Musculoskelet Disord Date: 2020-09-26 Impact factor: 2.362