TMJ dysfunction (TMD) can present symptoms such as pain behind eyes, diffi- culty opening and closing the mouth, ringing in ears, tooth grinding, over clench- ing, worn teeth, headaches and even vision problems. If the jaw is allowed to hinge normally and does not need to be forced into the closed bite position as shown in figure c then the T M D symptoms can resolve if the joint is not exces- sively damaged. The method of resolution of T M D is usually some type of dental appliance which helps the jaw function correctly.
Pain with TMD is caused by overwork of the nervous and muscular systems as they must function in an unnatural manner to bring the teeth together for chewing and the natural jaw clenching position. Over time the muscles fatigue, become strained, and can lead to pain in the jaw, the back of the neck, head and ears.272
The hyper stimulated nervous system has some surprising side effects. For example, orthopedic orthodontist Dr. Brendan Stack believes that the basis of most of the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome is essentially a misalignment of the mandible to the base of the skull. By correcting the position of the jaw with a dental appliance, the eye blinking, eyelid tics, mouth tics, head nodding, shoulder shrugging and head tremors disappear. Dr. Stack has videos on his website that appear to depict miracles. Yet the amazing recoveries are based on a correct under- standing of how the jaw and cranial system were meant to function. You can see immobilized people walking again within minutes at www.tmjstack.com
Many diseases, particularly neurological diseases like autism, have a signifi- cant symptom component in that the bite of the afflicted individual is severely compromised. Symptoms of a severely misaligned bite are a crooked face, improper facial growth, the mouth hanging open, tongue sticking out, and a very poor posture. Not all bite misalignments are that obvious. An imbalance of as little as '/8 of an inch can cause malocclusion and health problems.2 7 3 Treating
peutic correction of the bite. Unfortunately the connection between neurological diseases and the bite is often completely overlooked.
Orthodontics
Now we will learn why braces are generally unnecessary and in fact harmful. First, two definitions:
Orthodontics is the practice of forcing teeth to appear to be in alignment
using non-removable dental appliances such as braces.
Dental Orthopedics is a medical model that focuses on the structure and
alignment of the cranial bones, with the intent to align the jaw towards its normal developmental state. "Functional orthodontics" is another name for this modality.
Many people have chosen orthodontics, which is a means of making their teeth to appear straight, when they really wanted orthopedics, which is the correction of physical development to a normal and healthy state. These terms lead to a great deal of confusion because there are conventional orthodontists, orthodon- tist-orthopedists, and dental orthopedists. For clarity I will refer to practitioners who only look at making teeth straight, and who take a mechanistic approach that works against the normal function of the body as conventional orthodon- tists. Orthopedists are dental practitioners who align the bite, even though some orthopedists may also call themselves orthodontists.
Dental orthopedics is the art f o r m of reconstructing bites with dental appliances. This entails more than merely a mechanical process, but involves an artistic non-surgical cranial reconstruction. Conventional orthodontics is a mechanistic system that does not consider the normal developmental model of the body.
I, like many others, have experienced negative outcomes from conventional orthodontics. When I was young, my jaw was in the position as shown in figure c, also referred to as an overbite. Because the goal of conventional orthodontists (who practice orthodontics, not orthopedics) is to make teeth straight, without even necessarily making them contact properly, their simplified approach is to make your teeth straight BY ANY MEANS NECCESSARY. The conventional orthodontist believes that the jaws are stuck in one position and cannot move. At best, all an orthodontist sees is what is shown in the figure labeled occlusion: a row of teeth. The orthodontist, like the conventional dentist, also sees a row of money. I remember my orthodontist had nice pictures on his office wall of his mansion, and of his family's many vacations to Hawaii. The conventional orth- odontic approach was designed as a business model and is an easy and convenient way to move through many patients in an assembly-line fashion. In the process,
the conventional orthodontist rakes in large profits while ignorantly thwarting the normal developmental processes of the body.
In order to make the teeth straight and my jaw look a certain way (or to get my teeth to touch in a certain way; the goal was never made clear to me), by any means necessary, I was required to wear a headgear. The theory (wrongly) goes that when children are growing (I was eight) pushing the maxilla (upper palate) against its natural growth direction with a tortuous device called a headgear that is worn nightly, will cause the mandible (the jaw) to catch up. And then the hope is that the teeth will touch correctly (occlusion). So the fairytale goes, and every- one will be happy, and the orthodontist will get his $5,000.
Fifteen years later, however, at the age of 23, my teeth did not touch at all naturally. I developed TMJ dysfunction (TMD) by the time I was 30 years old, my lower teeth became very crooked, and my jaw never moved forward the way it was supposed to according to the treatment protocol. The conventional ortho- dontist's model of arresting the development of the maxilla is misguided since the body rarely or never overgrows a part of itself, rather other parts of the body do not grow fully so the maxilla appears to protrude, but it is really normal.
The results of two years of torture for me as a child were a lot of money spent, but no positive outcome. I know many other people who have gone through similar treatment, and have similar T M D and other serious problems to show for it. The problems get worse over time because our jaw continues to grow, or imbalances get worse, meanwhile the TMJ joint wears out. Many people do not figure out that they have TMD until, sadly, the entire joint is nearly worn out. I am lucky in a way. I have spent so much time researching dental problems that my research kept me focusing on my bite, and I finally realized my body was in a constant state of stress because my molars did not touch properly. Don't worry if this sounds like your situation; I will explain how to treat this problem shortly.