A bite plate that raises the occlusion reduces body sway while aiming
1 study · 1 archers measured
The summary today
Everything there is comes from a single archer, a 22-year-old who shot regularly for his team, measured in 1992 by a group of dentists on a stabilometric platform in the aiming position. The researchers first established his normal variability, nine measurements over three days; then they had him wear three resin bite plates that raised the occlusion by 2, 5 and 10 millimetres. Only the thickest changed anything: with the 10 millimetre plate the area and length of the centre-of-pressure path fell below his normal variability as early as five minutes after it went in, and the largest reduction came at thirty minutes. With 2 and 5 millimetres the changes stayed within that variability up to sixty minutes, so the same experiment says yes for one plate and no for the other two, which is why the claim is contested. It is still a single case, with no sham plate as a control and no score, and the percentages in the table cannot be read in the available copy: it does not say whether the effect exists in other archers, nor whether a smaller sway is worth any points.
Also phrased as: "bite plate for archery"; "mouthguard while aiming"; "occlusion and posture"; "clenching the teeth while aiming"; "bite splint and stability"
In practice
Between mouthguards, bite plates and clenched teeth while aiming, archers hear that holding the jaw in a fixed position helps them stay still on the aim.
Evidence
-
1992
For Archers Published later
A 22-year-old archer who shot regularly for his team, on a stabilometric platform in the aiming position, with nine measurements over three days to establish his normal variability: with a resin bite plate raising the occlusion by 10 mm, the area and length of the centre-of-pressure path fall beyond that variability from 5 minutes after it goes in, with the largest reduction at 30 minutes. The percentages in the table cannot be read in the registry's copy.
A Study on the Relation between Stomatognathic System and the Systemic Condition. Concerning the Influence of Bite Raising for Vertical Position by a Splint on the Control of Posture in Archery. · Keiichi Ishigami, Hiroyuki Hoshino, Tomotaka Takeda, Naoki Tsukimura, Kazuhiko Takayama, Akira Aono, et al.
-
1992
Against Archers Published later
In the same archer the 2 and 5 mm plates leave the area, length and convergence of the path within his normal variability up to 60 minutes: if there is an effect, in this case it appears only with the largest raise.
A Study on the Relation between Stomatognathic System and the Systemic Condition. Concerning the Influence of Bite Raising for Vertical Position by a Splint on the Control of Posture in Archery. · Keiichi Ishigami, Hiroyuki Hoshino, Tomotaka Takeda, Naoki Tsukimura, Kazuhiko Takayama, Akira Aono, et al.
Status history
- 1992 Contested A group of dentists measures a 22-year-old archer on a stabilometric platform, with three baseline days to establish his normal variability: with a 10 millimetre resin bite plate the area and length of the centre-of-pressure path while aiming fall beyond that variability as early as five minutes after it goes in, with the peak at thirty minutes. With the 2 and 5 millimetre plates nothing changes up to sixty minutes. The same experiment therefore points two ways, one plate in three reducing sway and two not, and it comes from a single case, with no control and no score: contested.
Related
Related articles
- Kisser, cap, shooting shirt and bite plate: what we know about the things archers wearKisser, cap, shooting shirt and bite plate: what studies have measured, on how many people, and why nobody knows if they are worth points.
- Posture and stability in archery: what biomechanists revealCentre of pressure, bow movement while aiming, balance before and after the release, the trunk and balance tests: what the biomechanics of stability measures and how much it weighs on the score.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). A bite plate that raises the occlusion reduces body sway while aiming (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/bite-plate-body-sway-aiming
@misc{campagna2026_biteoscillazionemira,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {A bite plate that raises the occlusion reduces body sway while aiming},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/bite-plate-body-sway-aiming},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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