Meet Teethan : The Sports Dentistry Neuromuscular Optimizer

What is the Teethan Device?

Teethan is a wireless electromyograph (EMG) that captures the electrical activity of masticatory muscles, offering real-time feedback on neuromuscular function. Using non-invasive surface electrodes, it records the activity of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles, providing quantitative insights into the muscular balance between the right and left sides of the face during occlusion.

This device stands out for its simplicity and portability, but maintains the diagnostic precision required for high-level neuromuscular analysis. Its real-time functionality means that dental specialists can assess, adjust, and immediately verify the effects of occlusal changes, making it ideal for dynamic environments such as sports dentistry clinics or functional rehabilitation settings.

In the evolving world of dentistry, where digital innovation meets functional rehabilitation, neuromuscular concepts are gaining prominence. Central to this evolution is the Teethan device, a cutting-edge EMG tool designed to measure and interpret muscle activity in real time. For dental specialists invested in delivering optimized occlusal therapies, particularly those operating in the realm of neuromuscular and sports dentistry, Teethan offers a game-changing advancement in accuracy and customization.

Precision in Action: Adjusting the Discharge Sphere

One of Teethan’s most advanced clinical applications is its ability to guide millimetric adjustments to a discharge sphere, such as a ferula (occlusal splint). In neuromuscular dentistry, the objective is to achieve a physiologically balanced mandibular position—one that minimizes muscle hyperactivity and restores optimal function.

Here’s where Teethan provides a distinct advantage. By measuring muscular outputs before, during, and after splint insertion, clinicians can:

Detect asymmetries in muscle tone and function.
Adjust the splint in real time, tailoring contact points to reduce imbalances.
Quantify neuromuscular balance via standardized indices like the Percentage Overlapping Coefficient (POC).
Validate therapeutic improvements instantly, eliminating guesswork and subjective interpretation.

This precision is critical in managing chronic conditions such as bruxism, TMJ dysfunction, or cranio-cervical disorders, where even slight imbalances can trigger pain or relapse.

Moreover, in the athletic population, whose parafunctional habits may be exacerbated by stress or physical exertion, custom occlusal interventions are essential. These athletes often benefit from ferulae designed not only to protect the dentition but to promote muscle symmetry and postural harmony. With Teethan, such customization becomes precise, measurable, and repeatable.

Real-Time Data: Redefining Occlusal Assessment

Traditional occlusal analysis tools, such as articulating paper, shim stock, or visual assessment, are inherently subjective and static. In contrast, Teethan enables the real-time observation of muscle responses under functional conditions:

While the patient bites.
During mandibular excursions.
Under the vertical dimension changes.
With lateral guidance modifications.

By interpreting these muscular responses, clinicians can finely tune occlusal relationships, not solely based on anatomy, but also on the neuromuscular feedback loop. This is a pivotal advantage in modern dental medicine, especially for practitioners following neuromuscular principles, where occlusion is inseparable from muscular harmony.

The Teethan system provides useful metrics such as the POC and a muscle symmetry index. These quantitative markers confirm whether the mandibular position is functionally neutral or strained, allowing dentists to make targeted, evidence-based adjustments. Importantly, this also enhances interdisciplinary communication, offering measurable outcomes that can be shared with physiotherapists, orthodontists, and other care providers.

Performance Enhancement Through Neuromuscular Occlusion

In sports dentistry, where marginal gains can influence performance outcomes, neuromuscular occlusion takes center stage. Teethan provides an advanced platform to optimize occlusal appliances for performance and safety. Its impact can be summarized in four domains:

1. Athletic Performance Optimization

Proper occlusal alignment and balanced masticatory function enhance postural control, neural integration, and even force distribution throughout the kinetic chain. Athletes with optimized occlusion often report improved balance, reduced muscular fatigue, and enhanced concentration. Teethan allows clinicians to dial in these parameters by evaluating how occlusal changes affect muscle activation in real time.

2. Injury Prevention

Malocclusion-induced stress can contribute to myofascial pain, neck and shoulder tension, and even temporomandibular disorders. An occlusal splint optimized with Teethan EMG data helps redistribute bite forces and alleviate localized strain. This preventive strategy is especially useful for athletes involved in high-contact sports or those prone to jaw clenching and bruxism.

3. Precision Appliance Fabrication

Teethan allows real-time intraoral feedback during appliance delivery. This ensures that contact points are modified with millimetric precision to achieve bilateral muscle harmony. Unlike static methods, dynamic EMG ensures that the device is not just a “good fit” anatomically but also a functionally harmonious tool.

4. Recovery and Rehabilitation

Following sports injuries, concussions, or craniofacial trauma, neuromuscular decompensation may occur. Teethan enables clinicians to evaluate muscle recruitment changes post-injury and adjust splints or therapy accordingly. This accelerates recovery and ensures that the stomatognathic system is functioning in sync with the rest of the body.

Objective Documentation and Digital Integration

Beyond clinical utility, Teethan elevates the standard of documentation and communication. The data it generates is not just useful for diagnosis and therapy—it also aids in:

Insurance reimbursement and case justification.
Patient education and consent.
Collaborative treatment planning across specialties.

Teethan is also compatible with digital occlusal analysis tools like T-Scan, jaw tracking systems, and CBCT. Together, these systems form a diagnostic triad—linking structural, functional, and muscular dimensions of occlusion. This “3D thinking” allows clinicians to understand not just how the jaw fits, but how it works.

Imagine overlaying EMG data on a 3D scan or mandibular path tracing to detect when and where muscles go off balance. This integration marks the dawn of a new diagnostic era in dentistry—one driven by data, not assumption.

A Workflow That Works: Simplicity Meets Sophistication

Despite its technical depth, the Teethan system is remarkably user-friendly. The electrode placement protocol is guided and replicable. The software interface is intuitive, and results are available within minutes, displayed in clear, interpretable formats, bar charts, symmetry indices, and POC values.

Patients respond well to this digital transparency. When they can visually compare muscle activity before and after a procedure, their understanding and trust increase dramatically. Athletes, in particular, value this data-driven approach as it mirrors the evidence-based mindset they apply in training.

Teethan also integrates smoothly into the digital practice environment, complementing CAD/CAM workflows, digital impressions, and computer-guided occlusal adjustments.

Conclusion: From Functional Dentistry to High-Performance Dentistry

Teethan is more than a neuromuscular diagnostic tool; it is a performance optimization system for the orofacial complex. Whether adjusting a discharge sphere in a complex TMD case or fine-tuning a sports appliance for a world-class athlete, the Teethan enables clinicians to act with a level of precision that was previously unattainable.

For dental specialists working at the intersection of digital innovation and physiological function, Teethan offers the tools to measure, validate, and perfect. As dentistry continues its shift toward data-driven care, the integration of real-time EMG is not a luxury, it’s a clinical imperative.

Welcome to the future of neuromuscular and sports dentistry. Welcome to measurable harmony.