Dental Health Guides
Airway Issues play a huge role in the development of children and they can continue to cause problems well into adulthood. The lack of a proper airway for children causes bite issues due to abnormal development of the jaws, crowding of teeth, and improper posture.
The photo at right shows a young patient who is "off center" with regards to her head and feet as well as her shoulders are not parallel with one another which creates the appearance of having uneven arm lengths.
As a Neuromuscular Dentist I am interested in evaluating all of my patients for the following:
Symptoms-
Mouth Breathing Ringing in the Ears
Dry Mouth Earache without infection
Snoring Vertigo (Dizziness)
Tired Upon Awakening Chronic Allergies
Cervicalgia (pain/ muscle tightness back of head/neck)
Headache History TMJ Pain
These three photos show a young man at age 9 who is developing nicely and has no esthetic issues. Unfortunately, shortly after the photos were taken, he took ownership of a pet gerbil, that he was allergic to. The subsequent changes in his facial profile, flattened cheeks, open lips, and nose changes are a result of fighting to get air.
Notice how his lower jaw is now set back quite a bit. At this point to treat him correctly from a dental standpoint, it would involve surgery to advance his lower jaw (orthognathic surgery by an Oral Surgeon). This didn't have to happen!
If his ariway was managed, he would have fulfilled his "normal" growth pattern that he started out with.
Quite a different appearance due to not being able to breathe through his nose. Mouth breather, forward neck posture, more likely to develop Sleep Apnea as an adult. Did you know that Sleep Apnea sufferers are much more likely to suffer from High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and Cardiac issues??
Extra-Oral Signs- (things that I see outside the mouth)
Rolled Lower Lip Facial Asymmetry
Dry Lips Deep Mentalis Crease (Above the chin)
Lips Apart Chronicallly Deviated Septum
Dark Circles Under Eyes Nose Pointing Upward
Uneven shoulders Forward Head Posture
This female patient came to see me because of severe headaches, primarily in the back of her head and on the sides of her head (involving the Temporalis muscle which is the large fan like muscle above your ear,that you can feel when you bite your teeth together). This is one of her x-rays that shows the forward head posture that is putting a strain on her muscles and causing the severe pain.
This x-ray isthe same patient after treatment with balanced Neuromuscular Dentistry , which has allowed her to become completely headache free and notice the spontaneuos change in her neck from having her bite balanced!
Her head is now centered over her shoulders where it belongs! Try holding a 9 pound bowling ball in your outstretched hand for longer than about 10 seconds! When your head isn't back over your shoulders, the fatigue and pain that results in the muscles in your head and neck is tremendous!
Her next phase of treatment is Neuromuscular Orthodontics to allow her teeth to be balanced with one another, top and bottom, so that the patient will not need to wear her treatment orthosis anymore.
questions??? email smilesforfresno@aol.com
Donna J. Blair DDS 431-4488
Neuromuscular Treatment of Headaches and TMJ Issues
Serving Fresno and the entire Central Valley