The mouth, with all that glorious teeth you have inside, is one of the most important tool in the human body, allowing you communicate, eat, do some kinky stuff, and even fight with it (Remember the Tyson vs. Hollyfield Heavyweight Boxing Fight anyone?). It is one of the least protected parts of the body among airsofters who prefer not wearing a facemask when playing. Just remember a chipped tooth hit that requires you to go to the dentist to fix for US$200, or more than that you lose it. I have seen my share of players who had a chipped or lost tooth, and they could've avoided it by spending US$20 to US$50 face mask which you can get from any airsoft retailer?

However, we are always conscious of our looks in airsoft, and many of us (yes, as it includes most of the Popular Airsoft operators, except for CQB games), would rather forego the facemask to maintain that realistic look while playing. But there's always one thing, a lost tooth is a lost tooth forever, it cannot regrow, as compared to a broken skin which can easily heal. And the replacement or fixing a tooh is really expensive, and many would prefer being hit with a BB at a high velocity than make that trip to the dreaded dentist with his dental drill.

Apart from the obvious worry of losing a tooth, there's also that stress with clenching your teeth while under pressure when playing to stay focused. When clenching the teeth, dentists speculate that jaws don't get aligned and airways are blocked.

So, I am writing about protecting the mouth and teeth (and the jaw) with this slowly growing technology for athletes. Called the "high performance" mouth guards not only help protect the mouth, but also help you perform better by helping lower stress while under pressure. If you consider an airsoft player an "operational athlete", then thinking about enhancing physical performance, while maintaining protection is also imperative. They align the jaws and opening airways for more oxygen to help the muscles and relaxed jaws means lessened stress.

Bite Tech, a company which has partnered with Under Armour to come up with their high performance mouth guard reminds of us of those days where the Greeks, Romans, and Vikings bite down on leather straps to get an added edge in competitions. Danny Kim of Time Magazine explains the theory:

"Clenching your teeth pinches the nerves that run through the temporomandibular (jaw) joint, causing the body to produce the hormone cortisol, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure — and can trigger a fight-or-flight response. That's good when you're actually in danger but distracting when you're playing softball. Bite Tech aims to improve your physical and mental performance by preventing you from clenching. It also moves your lower jaw forward. The combination opens the throat, improving breathing. (Some dentists recommend the gear for night grinders too.)

Which is well and good, as airsoft is also a high pressure sport and it has the motivation which is avoiding pain since you will feel pain when hit by a BB, like in contact sports,  which would increase your stress levels. Using a high performance mouth guard, even for its minor added performance enhancement, would help you focus on your objective and able to utilise your tactical skills.

The problem for now with this Bite Tech-Under Armour High Performance Mouth Guard is it costs US$495 and a trip to the dentist to ensure that that fit will be exact to your mouth which means even more costs. Also this protects just your lower teeth. You can still shout or communicate well but it may well be a lisp. There's the more expensive mouth guard that professional athletes use that gives more protection but I guess there will be less talk with it. I won't mind, I hate noisy team mates when playing airsoft, hand signals and radio squelches would always suffice for me.

If you're interested in such protection, but turned-off by the cost, you can wait for their "boil and bite" mouth guards which you will be able to buy from any sporting goods store without going to the dentist. Planned to be priced at US$60.00, and as what it is called, you do it yourself by putting it hot water to soften, and bite it, fitting the mouth guard along your teeth by tongue and finger pressure.

So how about that? Mouth protection that enhances your performance under pressure. Hear that, "Operational Athlete"?