If there's anything I DON'T like about my husband, it's the fact that he's REALLY big into martial arts. He trains, he teaches, and then he watches it again when he gets home - as if he hasn't had enough. Our DVR is filled with UFC reruns, and don't get me started on what we pay for pay-per-view subscriptions on fight night. One night while watching UFC, he actually came up with a pretty good idea about performance mouth guards, and wondered out loud if a properly fitted custom mouthpiece would indeed help with preventing knockouts. It was an interesting concept, and although I don't think a mouthpiece can keep your lights on after a Chuck Liddell right hook, based on what I know about Neuromuscular Dentistry, I'm 100% sure that a relaxed jaw can improve breathing and overall athletic performance.Fast forward a few months, and Beth, our business manager introduced me to the Under Armour Performance Mouthwear. Beth is a HUGE football fan, and looked into this for her own son, who plays for a local high school. After looking into the technology and realizing it was similar to my own solutions for Neuromuscular Dentistry, I thought it would be a good cost effective fit for the weekend warriors that come into my practice.I received the kit yesterday, and I'm very impressed!Here's a few shotsSo how does it actually work?The custom mouthpiece is fitted in the office, and is designed to prevent clenching of the jaw and drops the jaw down and forward, creating a measured space between the teeth. Although the website states that relieving pressure on the TMJ changes signal cascades to the hypothalamus, I look at it from a physical perspective and less a chemical one. A properly placed jaw actually balances the entire body as it is connected to your Atlas axis, as well as the shoulder and back muscles. Maybe I'm simplifying it, but think of it like this.Try running as fast as you can while clenching your jaw as hard as you can. Now, do the same exercise but with cotton rolls in your mouth to prevent clenching. How about trying the same exercise while throwing a punch? What you'll find is that when your jaw is relaxed and unclenched, you can run a bit faster, and punch a bit harder. This is because your jaw muscles are totally related to your entire body's balance.Now for you folks that are suffering from severe TMJ disorders, ie. Migraines, neck pains, dizziness, etc. This is not the solution for you. Feel free to call me and I can go into additional details on how to treat those particular symptoms.If you're interested in more technical information, read this months issues of Comprendium, one of our continuing education publications for the field of Dentistry.You also get more information by visiting www.underarmour.com or www.bitetech.com.I'll be delivering my first few cases in the next 2 weeks, so if you're interested in adding that extra edge to your football, golf, MMA, or running game - this might be for you!Call us at (858) 490-4281 to make an appointment or visit www.dentaldesignsd.com.Dr. A