NEWS
ARCHIVE
November
18, 1998
TOPIC:
TMJ Disorder: An Example of How Extremely Complex Orofacial
Anatomy & Physiology Really Is. Burt Reynold's:
3 Years of TMJ--Temporo Mandibular Joint Disorder (Jaw
Joint Dysfunction)
PAST:
Organized Excerpts from Burt Reynold's Interview by
N Collins in ELLE Magazine, April 1987: Here He Goes
Again After Too Long an Absence, One of Hollywood's
Favorite Sons Is Back On The Screen--And He's Looking
Better Than Ever.
TMJ
disorder is magnified by trauma: Burt Reynolds got hit
on the jaw. He didn't work for three years, he lost
weight down to 140 pounds which later went up to around
190. People thought he had AIDS which kept him from
making movies.... What he actually had was tempormandibular
joint disorder--TMJ.
TMJ
is painful and debilitating: When your jaw, your bite,
goes off your equilibrium goes off, too. You're in a
kind of brain pain that comes up and whips your eyeballs
out. Then the nausea starts. It‘s like being seasick
all the time. You throw up, can't lie down, can't take
any light. If the phone rang, I'd fall on the floor
with a pillow over my head because of the pain. I had
tubes in my ears and I didn't eat--just drank soup.
I kept getting thinner and thinner. It was scary. I
got these real carved cheekbones.
TMJ
sufferers are often referred for psychoanalyisis: Finally,
some friends suggested I see a psychiatrist." One
month in a support group.....had things in perspective.
TMJ
is not rare: Is TMJ disorder a rare disease? No, lots
of people have it but there are thousands of dentists
who don't know how to treat it. I saw 13 of them. Finally,
I found a guy in Florida and spent weeks--10 hours a
day--in a dental chair while he rebalanced every tooth
in my head. I didn't work for three years. (just as
he had traumatic TMJ dysfunction, everyday 200 lbs.
of chewing force can create similar chronic TMJ dysfunction
in susceptible individuals)
TMJ
can be overcome: Asked when he finally decided to take
control of life again? He said, "The moment I woke
up and was no longer nauseated."
PRESENT:
There have been a number of highly contested philosophical
approaches to diagnosing and treating TMJ. Unfortunately,
that dilemma shows the great blockade standing in the
way of understanding both the importance of orofacial
development in the first 10+ years of life and the balance
of function of the left and right jaw joints, muscles,
bone and related anatomy and physiology structure throughout
life.
Fortunately
for patients, medical science recently has taken an
interest in learning more about nasal airway development
and function. So the upper and lower jaws which can
significantly affect the nasal airway as well as the
oral airway route will become increasingly recognized,
studied and accepted for the major important role played
as The Airway Gateway to Life.
FUTURE:
Even as nasal function and nitric oxide function are
increasingly explored, so will infant airway formation
and reformation. Functional Jaw Orthopedics will become
recognized as a means to evaluate, diagnose and treat
airway obstruction and malformation. And exploring the
frontier will increasingly center on affecting proper
growth and development of The Airway Gateway.
Take
Care,
Dr. David Page
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