In elite sport, championships are often decided by the smallest margins.
Milliseconds in Formula 1.
Millimeters in football.
Moments of balance, strength, and focus.
Over the last two decades, athletes have increasingly turned to advanced sports science to gain those small advantages. One surprising piece of performance technology that has quietly made its way into elite locker rooms is the custom performance mouthguard.
During the season that ended with a Super Bowl championship, more than forty players from the New Orleans Saints wore custom performance mouthguards designed to optimize jaw positioning and improve athletic balance.
At first, even the players themselves were surprised.
“I wouldn’t have dreamed in a million years I’d be wearing a $2,000 mouthpiece,” one Saints player famously joked. “That’s like a grill.”
But the results were real. Athletes began reporting improvements in strength, balance, range of motion, and stability — all connected to the alignment of the jaw and the neuromuscular system.
This science fascinated Dr. Anil Makkar, a dentist who has spent decades studying how jaw positioning influences the entire body.
Dr. Makkar’s background in neuromuscular dentistry, combined with his passion for sport, led him to explore how properly fitted mouthguards could help athletes unlock greater performance.
His work eventually caught the attention of Merlins Sports Entertainment.
The Birth of Merlins Guard
Inside Merlins F-Labs, the research surrounding performance mouthguards inspired the development of a new product within the Merlins ecosystem:
Merlins Guard.
Merlins Guard builds on the science of neuromuscular dentistry, using precise jaw alignment to help athletes improve:
• Balance
• Strength
• Flexibility
• Range of motion
• Focus under pressure
In elite sport, the difference between gold, silver, and bronze is often measured in inches, millimeters, or seconds.
Merlins Guard is designed for those moments.
A New Era of Athletes
The rise of performance technology also coincides with one of the most exciting transformations in global sport:
The explosive growth of women’s athletics.
From the F1 Academy to the Women’s World Cup, from Olympic champions to rising professional leagues, women’s sports are experiencing unprecedented global attention.
This new era of competition demands the same innovations that have historically been developed for male athletes.
Inside the Merlins universe, characters like Mikaela and Krishma represent the next generation of modern knights — athletes, innovators, and storytellers exploring the science behind peak performance.
Welcoming Dr. Anil to the Knights of the Round Table
Recognizing his contributions to sports performance science, Dr. Anil Makkar has now been invited to join Merlins Knights of the Round Table.
Within the Merlins ecosystem, the Knights represent a circle of innovators, creators, and industry leaders who are shaping the future of sport.
Dr. Makkar now also serves as the official dentist of Merlins Sports Entertainment, working alongside Merlins F-Labs to further develop the science behind Merlins Guard.
The Future of Performance
From the Super Bowl to Formula 1 circuits, from Olympic training centers to the rapidly expanding world of women’s sports, the pursuit of performance continues to evolve.
The modern athlete is no longer powered by talent alone.
Science now plays an equally important role.
Inside Merlins F-Labs, that pursuit continues — exploring new technologies designed to help athletes unlock their full potential.
And sometimes, the difference begins with something as simple as a mouthguard.