Dear Dr Amir, I hope you are keeping safe and well during Covid.
I am contacting you in the hope that you may be able to help me with some medical/dental issues that I am currently experiencing.
Many years ago ( 1999 ) I had braces/restorative work done at my local dental hospital, and during this treatment, I started developing some nagging symptoms. e.g. Pain behind eyes, tension headaches etc. I had been very fit and healthy prior to this and took a regular part in competitive bike racing.
As time went on, my health worsened into tiredness, sinus like pressure in my head, tension headaches and poor sleep. I followed the conventional route through my GP and undertook scans of my head etc. but nothing ever showed up. My GP suspected I may have fibromyalgia. I tried to just put up with it.
Please note that a diagnosis of 'Fibromyalgia' is absolute nonsense and while some 800,000 people have been given this label, probably none have any such artificially created disease which has filtered out a certain set of symptoms, causing certain painful areas in the body as a "disease" called Fibromyalgia.
Fast forward to 2017, I had found some information on TMD and sought out a dentist locally. I discovered my jaw muscles were actually referring pain, especially my lateral Pterygoid and Masseter muscles. A short trial with an NTI splint brought significant relief and we also noticed my lower jaw seemed to want to relax slightly to one side of my habitual bite.
A local dentist fitted an upper expander (RN Sagital) and over some months, I developed spaces forwards and outwards. After about 6 months, I had a significant amount of relief. My lower jaw came forward and over to the left. I believe it re-centred and it appeared to match my facial midline, but somehow the upper jaw seemed slightly to the right. By now, symptoms had reduced considerably.
However, instead of restoring me at this bite, the dentist wanted to continue with expansion braces. He fitted me with top and bottom braces. Slowly over time, I seemed to lose my 'bite' which had brought relief and the symptoms came back.
To try and even out my bite, he filed away some teeth on one side.
At this point, I decided to stop treatment and let nature take its course. Unfortunately, as the expansion relapsed, I started developing some muscle spasms and very sore muscles around my face and surrounding areas. For these symptoms to subside, I let things settle for about 4 months. Then the following merry go round occurred:
- GP referral to a maxillo-facial surgeon for muscle spasms.
An utter waste of time has been the experience of almost every patient I have seen. A maxillo-facial surgeon has absolutely no knowledge of orthodontics and even less about functional orthodontics.
- Maxillo-facial referral to dental hospital to review poor bite.
I am hardly surprised.
- Dental hospital orthodontist referral to oral medicine because the bite cannot cause muscle spasm.
A pathetic understanding of orthodontics as I see regularly among numerous patient experiences. An orthodontist who may have an advanced degree in orthodontics is not necessarily equipped with the knowledge about the intricate relationship of occlusion with the rest of the body as this is not taught in dental colleges. They often perpetuate the illness with their extraction orthodontics dogma.
- Oral medicine consultant - told me I should leave occlusion alone and take amitriptyline. Even though I informed the consultant that 17 years of TMD had previously been resolved with a different jaw position.
Amitriptyline is the chief cop-out for many symptoms. Probably a million patients in the UK take this drug with possibly ZERO outcomes. Patients remain hooked on it for years and still have all their symptoms.
- Oral medicine consultant referred me to neurology due to jaw spasms and facial spasms.
- Neurology diagnosed me with Oromandibular dystonia and dystonia of soft palate.
Total rubbish as usual. And we all pay for this service!
- Dental hospital will not do anything now neurology are involved.
In medicine neurology is like visiting God. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The neurologist has indicated he thinks its dental-related but has referred me to the movement disorder ward for botox. ( I do not want the botox )
You are intelligent. You are lucky you did not get sucked into Multiple Sclerosis.
I apologise for the in-depth commentary above. As you can see, I feel I have exhausted the NHS and even private standard healthcare.
I have at least a hundred patients who have gone through this merry go round. You described it very aptly.
I would like to leave everything alone but during the last 6 months, I have started developing breathing issues and neck pain. I would best describe this as postural collapse, and I strongly believe my bite is contributing to a twisted neck/head position. I believe this to be structural and certainly not anxiety-based.
You are absolutely correct.
I am currently managing with a flat plane splint and visits to a local osteopath, but it does not hold.
Very unpredictable and possibly damaging choice of appliance over the longer term.
I found no relief in any medication provided other than sedating me.
There is no medicine out there for dental problems hijacked by medics.
As such I am only occasionally taking Paracetamol and Baclofen on a needed basis.
I found your website an amazing wealth of information and I hope you will see me for a consultation to see if you would be able to help.
Note: My comments are in italics in the section above - Dr Amir
Comment: Unfortunately, the experience of this patient is no different from that of thousands of others who seek help from the hospital maxillofacial and neurology services. These specialists are often out of their depth in the subject of orthodontics and yet hold orthodontic opinions which adversely impact the lives of thousands of ill patients.
These specialists who are in the driving seat of dentistry, display an utter lack of proper inquiry into the subject before dispensing their opinions. The irony is that they are the ones that the General Dental Council turns to for expert opinions on the formulation of policy and prosecution of dentists who do not tow their obsolete, third rate, meritless and nonsensical views.
The subject of malocclusion with its unavoidable and often severe impacts on the rest of the organic, neurological, musculoskeletal and vascular systems is ill-understood.
Orthodontics has moved out of the dark ages into a new era of looking at a total patient not just their teeth. Peoples' health is hanging by the skin of their teeth. A radical change in patient care is warranted and IMMEDIATELY. Hence the all encompassing concept of 'Cranio Dental and Skeletal symmetry'™.
Here are the words of the late Dr Fonder, a very reputable authority in dentistry, in a
publication dated 1977:
"The bite of the teeth plays a very important and central role in maintaining symmetry and balance throughout the muscular system of the body as we shall describe below. When the bite is off balance it will result in changes throughout the body, weakening pathways through the muscular system that follow the course of the Acupuncture Myofascial Meridians. There will also be disruption to the Autonomic Nervous System that controls the automatic functions of the body including our breath, heart rate variability and digestive function."
We are still in the dark ages after 43 years of Dr Ael Fonders work. It is difficult to envisage how under the auspices of characters bent upon perverting the course of justice, dentistry can ever be properly modernised and utilised for the attainment of true health and the elimination of chronic illness in society.
“He who knows not and knows not he knows not: he is a fool - shun him.
He who knows not and knows he knows not: he is a child - teach him.
He who knows and knows not he knows: he is asleep - wake him.
He who knows and knows he knows: he is wise - follow him.”
~ Chinese Proverb.
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