Neuromuscular Dentistry can frequently offer significant help to patients with migraines, chronic daily headaches, tension-type headaches and TMJ disorders. Chicago Neuromuscular dentist, Dr Ira L Shapira has created a new website that focuses on using Neuromuscular Dentistry to treat and prevent migraines and tension-type headaches.
Patients are frequently treated with dangerous medication when correction of the underlying muscle physiology and jaw function could significantly improve their quality of life wihout excessive use of drugs. It is well established that the majority of headaches are mediated or caused by the trigeminal nerve and the trigemino-vascular connections. The trigeminal nerve which is also known as the dentist's nerve is responsible for approximately half of the total input to the brain from the peripheral nervous system. Correction of noxious input can be life changing for patients suffering from headaches, migraines and TMJ disorders.
Dr Shapira has been practicing Neuromuscular Dentistry and Dental Sleep Medicine at his Gurnee dental practice, Delany Dental Care Ltd. With his partner Dr Mark Amidei they run an adult general dentistry practice that focuses on utilizing Neuromuscular Dentistry to treat migraines, chronic daily headaches, tension-
Dr Shapira is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and a Fellow of ICCMO, The International College of CraniMandibular Orthopedics.
Information about Neuromuscular Dentistry treatment is available at his website http://www.delanydentalcare.com/
http://www.sleepandhealth.com/
TMJ disorders are often called "The Great Imposter" because they present as numerous other disorders. Some of the more common disorders and/or that are frequently caused or worsened by TMJ disorders include:
Migraine headaches
Tension-Type headaches
Chronic Daily headaches
earaches or otalgia
sinus pain and or sinus headaches
temporal headaches
occipital headaches
eye pain and retro-orbital pain
stuffy ears and/or eustacian tube dysfunction
dizziness
feelings of disequilibrium
tinnitus or ringing in the ears
Clicking and popping of the jaw joints
jaw pain
tooth pain
facial pain and many other disorders.
There is an excellent article in Sleep and Health Journal about TMJ disorders and how they are frequently the cause of diverse problems. The aticle "Suffer No More: Dealing with The Great Imposter" http://www.sleepandhealth.com/
discusses how many of these problems are amenable to treatment with Neuromuscular Dentistry.
The wesite http://www.ihateheadaches.org is dedicated to headache treatment and the role of Neuromuscular Dentistry to prevent and treat all headaches related to the trigeminal nervous system.
"Physicians frequently are unaware of the effect of the trigeminal nerve in many pain conditions" according to Dr Shapira and "they are not directly involved in the art or science of Neuromuscular Dentistry and frequently do not refer patients for treatment that canbe extremly effective." Dr Barry Cooper recently published a paper in Cranio, a peer reviewed publication concentrating on TMD and Related disorder in which he described Neuromuscular Dentistry as being "overwhelmingly successful". Neuromuscular Dentistry can be time consuming, especially at the start of treatment and is sometimes criticized as being too expensine.
Two seperate articles published in Cranio by Shimshak et al showed that patients carrying a TMJ (TMD) diagnosis had a 200% - 300% increase in medical expenses in every field of medicine except obstetrics. Successful treatment of pain problems with Neuromuscular Dentistry may actually result in enormous savings on future medical care.
The NHLBI (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute) of the NIH published a report "Cardiovascular and Sleep Related Consequences of Temporomandibular Disorders" which details how sleep apnea and TMJ disorders are related and how the NHLBI recommends that this important field merits future research in many areas.
The International College of CranioMandibular Orthopedics (ICCMO) was founded by Dr Barney Jankelson the Father of Neuromuscular Dentistry. Dr Shapira is a Fellow of ICCMO and the representative of ICCMO to the Alliance of TMD Organizations. The TMD Alliance represents the most important organizations of TMJ/TMD dentists. The TMD Alliance is working to prevent insurance companies from fraudulantly denying medically necessary treatment of TMJ disorders, a very common problem.
Dr Shapira has been treating both sleep anea and snoring with oral appliances for over 25 years and is a pioneer in the field of Dental Sleep Medicine. The medical community took 25 years to recognize the value of oral appliances in treating sleep apnea but finally the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recognized that Dental Sleep Medicine and oral appliances was a first line treatment for mild to moderate sleep apnea and an alternative to CPAP for severe sleep apnea. "The medical community will probably recognize that Neuromuscular Dentistry is at least as important as Dental Sleep Medicine" according to Dr Shapira who worries how much unnecessary suffering patients will undergo in the meantime. "There are no magic cures" according to Dr Shapira "but for some patients the results can seem magical. I recently saw a patient who had a continuous headache for over 50 years and had complete relief in just a few visits" This is not typical but many patients are finding similar relief across the country.
The Las Vegas Institute, one of the most influential providers of high quality continuing dental education has embraced the field of Neuromuscular Dentistry and teaches a comprehensive series of courses led by Dr Norman Thomas as scientific director. Dr Thomas along with Dr Barney Jankelson pioneered this important medical field.
Dr Barry Cooper gives intensive introductory courses to dentists who want to understand the science and protocols that Neuromuscular Dentistry is based on. Many of his students continue their education at LVI and at ICCMO meetings.
Dr Shapira gives intensive course in Dental Sleep Medicine to dentists from across the United States in Gurnee. A founder of the Sleep Disorder Sleep Society that eventually became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine makes Dr Shapira an ideal source of information on Dental Sleep Medicine. He did research at Rush Medical School in the 1980's on the relation of Sleep Apnea to jaw position and TMJ disorders. He stresses the developmental simiarities between TMJ disorders and Sleep Disorders and how sleep apnea can be prevented by encouraging proper oral facial development.. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that dentists treating Sleep Apnea with oral appliances have extensive experience treating TMJ disorders. Dr Shapira has spoken to numerous groups about Dental Sleep Medicine and the treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring and will be teaching his next course in April. The treatment of headaches, migraines and TMJ disorders is also explored in his courses.
Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates was recently founded by Dr Shapira and emphasizes treatment of Snoring and Sleep Apnea with comfortable oral appliances instead of surgery. Information about Dental Sleep Medicine is available at http://www.ihatecpap.com and at http://www.chicagoland.ihatecpap.com/
