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Could Your Bad Bite Affect Your Performance?

We mere mortals can’t help but to admire sheer athletic prowess.
Our favorite athletes make every move appear so effortless…so graceful. Have you ever wondered what they have that gives them that competitive edge? Is it unrelenting will, cybervision of being a champion, or heredity; or is it their competitive nature?

What is it in their makeup that makes them so gifted?
Although there are many factors to consider, the aspect of our attention is their neuromuscular and skeletal superiority. Why is that important, and who can achieve it?
Let’s go back to basic human anatomy and physiology and discuss peak performance. You need a balanced skeletal frame covered with muscles and nerves that are in total balanced harmony. You need proper sleep for repair and hormonal balance. You need a system that properly oxygenates for muscle recovery along with proper vascular circulation to pass the nutrients throughout the body to allow for efficient cellular metabolism and impeccable function to give the bursts of muscular energy and exceptional demands an athlete places on their body.

Think of it this way. You can travel at top speed when the highway is unencumbered. How difficult would it be if there is construction, pot holes
and road blocks that make the road impassable. The neural pathways are like superhighways. They need to be free of skeletal impingements and
misalignments that cause pain and compromise motion. When the neural pathways become blocked there is a slowing of the brains transmissions.
Now think of a marionette. Each string that moves a limb or body part can’t keep the doll’s formation straight if the lines get twisted or
knotted. There is an adverse affect on the ability to move properly. The knots of the strings can be equated with the shortening of muscles of the body. A tug of war is set up and the performance of the body begins to become challenged, or injured.
What is the role of a neuromuscular dentist in all this?

We evaluate ALL our patients, pro athlete or not, to look at all the oral structures, the inter-relationship of the jaw joints, the airway and upper cervical spine. We look for areas of
nerve entrapment, sleep disorders and areas of pain that are symptoms of misalignment and structural tug of wars that compromise performance, longevity and brain function. When we find them, we put together a plan with our team of professionals to start to restore, realign, and create the best possible 3D solutions
helping our patients achieve a more healthful, comfortable, and functional quality of life. We can ascertain if the “road blocks” are coming from
the lower part of the body or from the head on down. Either way, like the proverbial “dominos”, once one part is out of alignment, there will always be a sequential chain reaction just like
seeing the entire row of dominos fall simply by knocking over the first one.

As a neuromuscular dentist, an often overlooked, yet truly vital part of your overall health is the anatomy and shape of your mouth and tongue,
and your airway and the affects of the surrounding structures. Equally important is the way your teeth come together. Your bite will either properly support your jaw joints in front
of your ears, or it will be compressed and will impinge the neural and vascular structures that can affect balance and ringing in your ears. It
can often cause pain in your ears or surrounding areas. It may escalate into head, neck and shoulder and arm pain.

We also check for sleep and breathing disorders. This is so important to your overall health. If you are not sleeping properly, you are not repairing your body. Your hormonal function is compromised, and a whole host of problems begin to
show up such as high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, and increase the risk of stroke.
When we think of our competitive performers, the difference between first and second can be such a tiny margin, and knowing if you are dentally
neuromuscularly fit is vital. And if you a mere mortal like me, being neuromuscularly fit can simply give you a longer, healthier quality of life.