It was in the summer before seventh grade that I visited an orthodontist for the first time. "Your teeth are perfectly straight," the doc proclaimed while surveying my mouth. My bite, however, was rather wonky, which hinted at possible jaw problems down the road. Thus, the parental verdict was made: braces. I wore them pretty much without incident for nearly two years - as did lots of kids in my grade. The teachers grew accustomed to our recurring orthodontia appointments, which (to our delight) typically netted us early dismissals. (Relinquishing gum and other sticky stuff for a full 24 months was devastating to us preteens, but having a valid excuse to leave school early on a fairly regular basis helped to somewhat offset the injustice we felt.)
But that was back in the "80s, an era when - at least compared with today's more sophisticated dental industry - the options and innovations were nowhere near as plentiful and sophisticated as they are now. Plus, what once was a sector that seemed to cater almost exclusively to teenagers" crooked teeth and off-kilter bites now also serves adults choosing to fix or enhance their choppers later in life. And it's not just cockeyed bicuspids and cattywampus molars that have these folks dialing up an orthodontist. Believe it or not, it's headaches, dizziness and other aggravating (and often debilitating) issues, according to local orthodontist Dr. Sheila Birth, D.D.S., M.S., whose practice offers a pioneering treatment for these problems: TruDenta.
"TruDenta is a system of care that is proven to help people suffering from headaches, migraines, tinnitus, vertigo and TMJ/TMD [temporomandibular joint disorder]," Birth explained. Until recently, she says, most dental pros didn't realize that "dental forces" could be the cause of things like migraines and ear-ringing. "Any patient who suffers from these symptoms should be examined by a TruDenta doctor to determine if they're a candidate for this care approach," she recommended.
Although most of Birth's TruDenta patients tend to be women, many men who"ve had some type of sports- or accident-related head trauma have also found relief with this treatment. "Even patients who"ve seen multiple specialists have come to us and found the solution to their symptoms in just a matter of weeks," she said.
Since integrating TruDenta into their practice two years ago, she and her fellow doctors have been thrilled with the results, Birth says.
"When I first started practicing orthodontics in 1986, there was a cure rate of 30 to 40 percent for TMJ and dental headache patients," Birth recalled. Those numbers, she says, left her and her peers underwhelmed, to say the least. "We could get teeth straight 100 percent of the time, but we weren't satisfied with the cure rate for TMJ/TMD. Now we have new technology to see if the patient truly has a force imbalance (either muscles, joint or teeth) contributing to the TMJ. If they do, we can help them every time. … I love this, and our patients love the technology."
For those of you who are, shall we say, more than a bit "dental phobic," you can relax -TruDenta doesn't hurt a bit (either physically or financially), Birth assures. "The exam is painless and free in our practice," she said.
Oh, and just to further calm your fears: TruDenta doesn't involve medication or - and this is a biggie - needles. (I'm pretty sure I just heard a collective sigh of relief.) In fact, Dr. Birth maintains, the treatment is actually quite "spa-like."
Which means it's way more fun than a middle-school braces adjustment … even the ones that got you out of math class early.
