TY - JOUR PY - 2011// TI - The effect of mouthguard design on respiratory function in athletes JO - Clinical journal of sport medicine A1 - Gebauer, Dieter P. A1 - Williamson, Raymond A. A1 - Wallman, Karen E. A1 - Dawson, Brian T. SP - 95 EP - 100 VL - 21 IS - 2 N2 - 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. LA - SN - 1050-642X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0b013e31820428b0 ID - ref1 ER -