Dentist Says Mouthpieces Could Alleviate NFL's Concussion Problem

The NFL conducted a summit in Chicago this week to address the growing concern that players who suffer concussions on the field also suffer long-term health consequences later in life. But one person is disappointed that he wasn't invited.

Patriots team dentist Gerald Maher said neither he nor any other expert on teeth and jaw injuries was included in the summit, even though NFL research showed that 70 percent of concussions are the result of blows to the jaw. Maher is the inventor of the Maher Mouth Guard and he claims on his web site that no player wearing one has ever had a concussion as a result of a blow to the jaw. Maher can't figure out why he and other team dentists weren't at the summit.

"To not have a TMJ [temporomandibular joint] expert on the panel is extremely shortsighted," said Maher. "I don't understand why they don't. It's one of the pieces that we should be looking at. We should be looking at prevention."

Part of the NFL's concussion crackdown, which includes neurological baseline testing for all players, will be to enforce the use of chin straps. Maher said that's more likely to hurt than help, as it locks the jaw in a position where the end of the jawbone can strike the temporal lobe of the brain.

"That's the worst possible physiological position they can put it in," said Maher.

It's good that the NFL addressed concussions this week, but it's bizarre that team dentists weren't included in the discussion. Maher's views deserve a hearing throughout the league.