Influence of dental occlusion on the athletic performance of young elite rowers: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to assess the influence of dental occlusion on body posture and the competitive performance of young elite rowers. METHOD: Dental occlusion disturbance devices were used to simulate dental malocclusions. We assessed the influence of malocclusion on the body balance, paravertebral muscle contraction symmetry, and muscular power of young elite rowers. A nonparametric permutation test for repeated measures ANOVA, a Cochran's Q test for paired data and a paired Student's t-test were used in order to statistically evaluate the influence of artificial occlusal disturbance on each factor. A force platform and a Dyno Concept 2 machine were used as measuring instruments. RESULTS: A total of 7 members of the “Pôle France Aviron” (age range of 15-17 years) were enrolled in the study. None of the body balance parameters was significantly influenced by the artificial occlusal disturbance. The interposition of an occlusal silicone splint significantly increased the proportion of athletes presenting asymmetric muscular contractions from 14.3% to 85.7% (p=0.025) and induced a significant 17.7% decrease in the athletes' muscular power (p=0.030). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the negative impacts of an occlusal disturbance on the athletic performance of young elite rowers. The detection of malocclusion traits by regular occlusal monitoring would be of great interest in this population.