What is Medical Orthodontics?
The American Academy of Medical Orthodontics was founded to help the many patients who suffer from serious medical, dental, head and neck related diseases and issues, for which there is no clear ideal treatment modality. The most common treatment strategy for these patients include masking the problem with painkillers, which does not deal with the real cause. Health care providers often call these conditions as “idiopathic”, meaning that there is no known cause.
Through the specific techniques and innovations created by our team, Medical Orthodontics can prevent and resolve a few dozens of medical and dental related issues, such as those listed at the end of this page. No one would imagine that simple orthodontics could relieve migraine headaches, sleep apnea, insomnia, head, neck and shoulder strain, and much more.
Our goal is to educate patients and health care providers, as well as insurance companies, on the medical necessity for non-invasive orthodontics and the miracles that it can create in the treatment of several medical conditions.
Who are we?
We are a group of health care providers, including various dental specialists (orthodontics, orthopedics, and oral surgery), oral hygienists, nurses, chiropractors and physicians working in the neurological field and in other areas of medicine.
Together, we treat patients and train other health care providers in this new area of medicine via innovative technology and research. We help many patients across the country and across the world, improving their health and wellbeing without the need for constant therapy and medications. The majority of Medical Orthodontic treatments end up preventing expensive, invasive and costly surgical interventions.
What is our Mission/Vision?
Our mission is to train health care providers across each nation and create a strong network of dentists and health professionals, who can successfully work together to resolve medical and dental issues that are currently left untreated.
We educate both patients and insurance companies, so they can recognize that orthodontics, straight teeth and a balanced bite are a medical necessity and not just a simple cosmetic fix. Ideally, insurance companies will ultimately cover Medical Orthodontics’ procedures in the near future. We also educate dental care professionals on how and why it is so important to treat patients through Medical Orthodontics in order to promote function and health and not just improve cosmetics.
Examples of issues that Medical Orthodontics can prevent or treat
Medical Issues:
- Migraine
- Headaches
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ear)
- Sleep Apnea
- Snoring
- Insomnia
- Attention deficit disorder
- Posture
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Back and lower back pain
- Digestive issues
- Jaw problems
- Grinding
- Clenching
- Clicking
- Locked jaw
- Popping of the jaw
- Temporomandibular disorders
- Temporomandibular joint problems, facial disorders
- Ear, nose and throat issues
- Sinus problems
- Cervical Spine pain
- Chronic Fatigue
- Atypical Facial Pain
- Halitosis
- Joint pain
- Orbital eye problems
Dental Issues:
- Periodontal disease, gingivitis, gingival inflammation, gum disease
- Halitosis
- Alveolar bone loss
- Gum recession and gummy smiles
- Tori development (excessive bony growth in upper or lower jaws)
- Teeth sensitivity
- Abfractions (notches on teeth along gum-line)
- Craze lines (vertical lines seen on some teeth)
- Darkened teeth
- Grinding, clenching, flat worn out teeth, loss of vertical dimension (shorter face like older people)
- Jaw problems, including clicking and popping
- Teeth fracture
- Restoration failure, crowns, veneers, fillings, on-lays
- Loose teeth, damage to periodontal fibers
- Unattractive smile
- Early loss of teeth in life
Cosmetic Issues:
- Facial asymmetry
- Gummy smiles
- Early appearance of wrinkles (narrow crowded upper and lower arches)
- Midline shift
- Lip and mouth asymmetry/asymmetrical smile lines
- Jaw leaning too far forward or too far back/less than ideal facial profile
- Loss of vertical dimension of occlusion & poor posture
- Protruded or retroclined lips
- Inability for proper restorations/veneers. Repeated failure of dental restorations
- Inability for general or cosmetic dentist to restore proper form and function
- Collapsed bite, excessive intrusion or extrusion not allowing proper space for adjacent or opposing restorations
- Dirty looking teeth due to accumulation of food and calcified deposits in crowding or spacing
- Darkened teeth
Emotional, Economical, Psychological & Social Issues with Malocclusion:
- Loss of productivity, time and money dealing with pain and treatments
- Loss of self-confidence
- Loss of hope
- Loss of opportunity in personal and professional relationships
- Financial burden for the patient and their family dealing with chronic issues
- Feeling embarrassed and shy in public due to poor smile
- Having to deal with pain at all times
- Many patients report they have seen multiple specialists and doctors all over the country only to be put on antidepressants, steroids and painkillers, since the majority treats the symptoms, ignoring the actual causative factors
- Major financial loss for patient, family, community, and insurance companies treating life time of chronic issues without any resolution
- Economic loss for the nation and insurance companies.