Citation

Gebauer DP, Williamson RA, Wallman KE, Dawson BT. Clin. J. Sport. Med. 2011; 21(2): 95-100.

Affiliation

School of Dentistry; †School of Medicine and Pharmacology; and School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JSM.0b013e31820428b0

PMID

21358498

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that 2 types of custom-made mouthguards will have no effect on ventilation (V̇E, L·min−1), oxygen uptake (V̇O2, mL·kg−1·min·−1), and heart rate (beats per minutes) at varying exercise intensities (10 km·h−1 and 12 km·h−1) and at subjective maximal effort (V̇O2peak) in male field hockey and water polo players.

Design: A randomized, prospective, crossover study.

Setting: The Physiology Testing Laboratory, School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health at the University of Western Australia, a tertiary educational institution.

Participants: Twenty-seven male team-sport athletes.

Interventions: Each athlete participated in 3 experimental exercise sessions separated by 1-week intervals. Testing involved a graded exercise test (GXT) performed on a treadmill wearing either a custom laminated mouthguard with normal palatal surface, a custom laminated mouthguard with palatal coverage up to the gingival margin, or no mouthguard. The experimental trials were performed in a random counterbalanced order.

Main Outcome Measures: V̇E (L·min−1) and V̇O2 (mL·kg−1·min−1) were measured during the GXT at intensities that equated to 10 km·h−1, 12 km·h−1 and subjective maximal effort (V̇O2peak).

Results: There were no significant differences between trials for V̇E (L·min−1) and V̇O2 (mL·kg−1·min−1) at any of the intensities assessed (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The wearing of 2 different custom-made mouthguards during a GXT did not impair V̇E or V̇O2 during varying levels of exercise intensity in team sport athletes.