26 October – BSSCMD Study Day, London

October 26, 2012 at 8:47 pm 2 comments

This study day, organised by Dr Richard Dean for the British Society for the Study of Cranio-Mandibular Disorders, was held at the Holiday Inn, Berwick Street and was a sell out. 50 delegates attended and included dentists, orthodontists, osteopaths, chiropractors , physiotherapists and laboratory technicians.

In Richard’s words: “It is becoming increasingly apparent that complex musculo/skeletal problems involving the head, neck, shoulders and low back can have a direct relationship with jaw position. The association of forward head posture with a receding jaw is well established. By changing the jaw position, the head, neck and body posture can be changed and vice versa. This is more common knowledge and experience with physical therapists than it is with dental surgeons

My talk was entitled “The Effects of Jaw Problems on the Rest of the Body” and this gave me the opportunity to discuss cosmetic and functional factors. The latter included:

Airways – Nasal & Pharyngeal
Lack of Tongue Space – Snoring & Sleep Apnoea
Forward Head Posture – Back Muscle Strain
TMD – Clicking, Crepitus, Locking, Limited opening, OME, Bruxism, Headaches and many more

The presentation ended with a 10 minute video about Dr Brendan Stack’s work on movement disorders which included the treatment of Tourettes & Torticollis using an intra-oral splint. Dr Stack has an on-going pilot study with the American Tourettes Assoaciation.

2 Comments Add your own

1. richarddean | October 30, 2012 at 6:06 pm

The meeting involved a wide cross section of disciplines involved with the treatment of musculo/skeletal problems, particularly related to the jaws .
We were left in no doubt that distorted and misaligned teeth are associated with misaligned jaws and that this can cause derangement in the jaw joints and reflect into the rest of the body affecting posture and function. For this reason diagnosis and treatment frequently requires the coordinated skills of both dentists and physical therapists.
Reply
2. Doug | November 22, 2012 at 10:44 am

Thanks for your talk Helen. It is good to meet orthodontists that respect the TMJ and who aim to treat the whole patient and not merely straighten teeth
Reply

Connecting Heads