Clench your teeth during breath holds?

[Kevin Kao]

Hi everyone,

Just curious, during breath holds and dives, do you clench your teeth?

Kev

 

[Josue Garcia]

Yea a little but no hard.

 

[Kevin Kao]

Yea a little but no hard.

Thanks Josue for your reply.
The reason I asked is, I try to stay relax during the breathhold, neck, shoulders and throughout the whole body, and then i try to relax my jaw... however sometimes when i relax my jaw, air escapes from my mouth. i guess i will keep my teeth clenched, but just not too hard. Thanks again!

 

[Josue Garcia]

Thanks Josue for your reply.
The reason I asked is, I try to stay relax during the breathhold, neck, shoulders and throughout the whole body, and then i try to relax my jaw... however sometimes when i relax my jaw, air escapes from my mouth. i guess i will keep my teeth clenched, but just not too hard. Thanks again!

Ha,ha no problem! Cheers

 

[Sergeyvladivostok]

Haha! Human jaw muscles is quite, you will use a lot of energy trying to clench them

 

[Josue Garcia]

hey man i read this in another thread

"I started freediving in 2006 and since 2007 I have experienced some problems with my teeth. In 4 different occasions I damaged teeth while eating; last one was broken completely and had to be removed. My dentist asked me if I put pressure on my teeth as some people do in their sleep. This I do not do but I started thinking and I think that in occassion, while freediving, i put pressure on my teeth to release the tension from contractions. I wonder if this has been experienced by other freedivers and whether this pressure on teeth while freediving is indeed associated with teeth problems."

He's probably biting down so hard, don't do that

 

[Kevin Kao]

Haha! Human jaw muscles is quite, you will use a lot of energy trying to clench them

so u are suggesting to keep them apart conserves more energy than keeping them slightly clinched during breath holds??

hey man i read this in another thread

"I started freediving in 2006 and since 2007 I have experienced some problems with my teeth. In 4 different occasions I damaged teeth while eating; last one was broken completely and had to be removed. My dentist asked me if I put pressure on my teeth as some people do in their sleep. This I do not do but I started thinking and I think that in occassion, while freediving, i put pressure on my teeth to release the tension from contractions. I wonder if this has been experienced by other freedivers and whether this pressure on teeth while freediving is indeed associated with teeth problems."

He's probably biting down so hard, don't do that

ok, i wont

 

[Quicksilver8ball]

Are you using your using your mouth to seal your breathold? I'm no expert, but I believe its considered best practise to use your glottis to seal your hold. If your blocking with your glottis correctly you should be able to open your mouth fully without air escaping your lungs (although I'd reccomend trying this on dry land ) This might let you relax your jaw.

 

[Quicksilver8ball]

quoting fail

 

[Quicksilver8ball]

however sometimes when i relax my jaw, air escapes from my mouth.

I'll try again, lol
Are you using your using your mouth to seal your breathold? I'm no expert, but I believe its considered best practise to use your glottis to seal your hold. If your blocking with your glottis correctly you should be able to open your mouth fully without air escaping your lungs (although I'd reccomend trying this on dry land ) This might let you relax your jaw.

 

[Kevin Kao]

I'll try again, lol
Are you using your using your mouth to seal your breathold? I'm no expert, but I believe its considered best practise to use your glottis to seal your hold. If your blocking with your glottis correctly you should be able to open your mouth fully without air escaping your lungs (although I'd reccomend trying this on dry land ) This might let you relax your jaw.

thanks for the tip man, i will start trying this out!

 

[Quicksilver8ball]

No problems, let us know how you get on

 

[Piotrek]

Just curious, during breath holds and dives, do you clench your teeth?

When I'm on my back on my bed, my jaws are actually slightly apart, because I make sure to relax them. But it strikes me now that during dynamics with fins, I sometimes did clench my teeth hard, which I think was a big mistake (for the reasons that Sergey mentioned). Try to see how you behave under various circumstances, and whether it makes a difference for you. And of course follow Quicksilver's advice

And thanks for the question -- I will now make sure to monitor myself when I wear my fins next time. I wonder.