Tag Archives: braces

Brain Injury… Connecting your Bite to your Brain

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed last week’s topic about head/brain trauma and how it’s found in everyday life, NOT just sports

This week we will be continuing on with topics around brain injury and spend a little time talking this week about the effects that brain trauma can have on an individual’s bite, and vice versa.  Next week we will be talking about how PTSD and emotional disorders are related/caused from head trauma so stay tuned!

So, we know from last week’s talk, that head trauma can come from anywhere, and our first experience in this world is our most important one to look at in regards to body function.

What do I mean by this?  Well, there’s a reason I ask ALL my patients young and old how their birth was.  This is because this is our first instance in our life where we are exposed to some sort of physical trauma.  Birth IS trauma.  Doesn’t matter the type, although more are far more traumatic that others.  But, it IS important to know all that happened.

If you’ve seen a birth or seen a child after a birth, you will notice the shape of their head is pretty misshapen.  Often a cone head or some other similar shape can occur. 
Now, although body is pretty amazing at healing itself, these misshapen bones don’t always go into their correct position.  I like to give the analog of dislocating your elbow for instance.  Will the joint just fall back into place?  No.  It needs to be guided back in.

That is why is it so IMPORTANT to see children right after birth to ensure that these bones and the joints in their spine are in the proper place and grow into the proper place. 

Why is that “proper place” important?  Because it holds the “all important organ” THE BRAIN!.  Since the brain is extremely sensitive to any little change in it’s environment, any slight little pressure on it can cause HUGE effects.  For a child, growth and development, pain, brain function, vision, digestion, hormones, ect… 

Well, what happens if they don’t get Craniopathy care? 
Since I don’t strictly see children in my practice, we as adults unless we’ve had Craniopathy care as an infant, grow into those dysfunctional patterns unfortunately. 

You many not be able to see from the outside these changes, unless dramatic.  But we all to some extent has some cranial dysfunction from birth.

So why is this important to the bite?

Well, the TEETH are just an extension of bone.  That’s all they are.  And we aren’t born with teeth right? The teeth actually extend down and grow in the way they do because of how the bones of the head are moving. If there is improper motion, or narrowing of the palate from birth for example, the teeth will grow into abnormal directions.  This is why individuals get braces

But that brings me to another issue.   If we get braces as a youth or an adult, and try to straighten or fix the bite, without addressing the head first and making sure the motion is balanced, we literally fix the teeth in a dysfunctional pattern.  We straighten the teeth, but don’t fix the headThis is very confusing for the brain.   What happens when the brain is confused?  Well, usually pain or problems in the body.

So, for this first point.  The teeth position or our “bite”, is HUGE.  A lot of individuals bite in the front of their teeth, which creates huge problems for symmetry in the body.  If they’ve had braces, it doesn’t mean that their bite is necessary balanced.  I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen that had braces and have terrible bites and thus terrible symptoms.  But the important thing to note here is that you NEED to balance the head to the bite.  

If there is any sort of shift in the bones of the head through any form of brain injury: birth, concussion, whiplash, ect., the bite will follow.  

This is why many individuals begin “clenching” after a brain injury.  It’s a sign of cranial stress!.  They also will most likely later on down the line start getting TMJ symptoms. If you just put a night guard on, you aren’t fixing any problems if you don’t address the head. Some mouth guards and appliances can actually make things worse, because they are just trying to focus on the teeth and the TMJ, without looking at all to the other bones of the head.  

Let’s give an example to make this a little clearer. 

Say I’m driving along, and I get rear ended and end up with whiplash, and hit my head on the back of the car seat. 

This trauma causes the brain to hit the bones of the end, and the tissue inside the head to torque, thus causing the bones of the head to shift.  Because of the shifting, certain muscles start tightening causing my right jaw joint to tighten up.  Because the right side is tighter, I start chewing more on the left side (subconsciously).  Chewing just on the left side then causes a pattern of tissue tightness down the whole left side of my body into the neck and down to the legs.  See the connection?

Now, if I think I just have TMJ, disregard the whole brain injury, then most likely I will get put in an appliance because I clench my teeth (sign of brain trauma).  Well the appliance will protect my teeth from the clenching, but will it actually fix anything?  Nope.  Some appliances are better than others, but they ALWAYS work best when the head dysfunction is addressed FIRST. 

make sense? 

Clenching and grinding in children is also a sign of head stress.  Most likely from birth trauma or another brain injury.  

Get them in.  We can change their outcome. 
Waiting it out with these things is not wise.  
Their brains depends on it. 

So to catch up. 

  • Head injuries causes the teeth to grow in an improper way.
  • Head injuries after the teeth have grown in also change bite position because of shifting the system and muscles tightening.  
  • This improper bite then causes further stress back up into the head and body because it’s not balanced. 

Back and forth it can go. 

BUT, there’s answers!

Fix the dysfunction….. Then work with the bite as needed from some functional dentists ( I know several), and you can get brain freedom and a balanced bite.

And mom’s.  Get your kids in after birth!  We can avoid problems later in life caused by these traumas.

Oil of the WEEK.

The oil of the week this week is DDR PRIME!
DDR Prime Essential Oil Cellular Complex is a proprietary blend of essential oils that supports healthy cellular integrity.* Great for the brain!! Protective against oxidative stress, Clove, Thyme, Litsea, and Wild Orange are prominent components of DDR Prime and provide powerful antioxidants. The Cellular Complex blend also includes essential oils from Frankincense, Lemongrass, Summer Savory, and Niaouli, which help support a healthy immune response.* In addition, DDR Prime is calming to the nervous system.* Soothe the body and the mind by taking a drop internally or combine with a carrier oil and massage into the skin. Supportive to the health of the brain and nervous system, use DDR Prime as daily overall wellness support.*

Uses

  • Add 1–2 drops to citrus drinks, teas, or water and consume daily to protect the body and cells from oxidative stress.*
  • Combine with a carrier oil for a soothing topical massage.
  • Add DDR Prime to your daily supplement routine to support brain and nervous system health.*
  • When needed most or as a daily boost, take 1-2 drops of DDR Prime to promote a healthy immune response.*

 

 

That is all for now.

 

 

have a happy and healthy week!

 

Dr. Hamel