orthodontic work

[jan251]

Humor me please

 

Prior to the sudden-onset OCD, my ds always had a low level of anxiety and sensory issues. During the year right before the OCD, he had a palate expander followed by a retainer. While the palate expander was in and afterward with the retainer, he seemed much happier - it was kinda weird! (I had expected all sorts of complaining about the expander but it never happened.) Shortly after he outgrew the retainer, whatever perfect storm of events occurred and the OCD showed up (infections, immune issues, etc.).

My ds will probably be getting braces in a few months, some time after his next ortho checkup. We are waiting for teeth to come down but it's no secret that he will need braces for sure.

 

Is there any sort of change the expander could have had on parts of his head that contributed to a mood improvement? When I look at diagrams online, it doesn't look like the palate is anywhere near the basal ganglia, LOL, so I doubt it, but part of me has wondered.

 

How about braces - did anyone get lucky and notice positive mood improvements (or, even better, OCD improvements) that seemed to correlate with braces or other orthodontic work?

[kim]

Jan,

 

If you do a search of the forums you should find some old threads where a dentist was claiming success with a dental appliance for people with TS. I know there was even a video of people before and after the appliance. I can't remember the specifics, but he did have a theory of how jaw misalignment (?) contributed to nerves that control something. I don't remember if OCD was ever mentioned as being any part of that whole thing or not.

 

It was interesting to read your post in light of that old topic.

[jan251]

Thanks Kim, I will look for that!

[MomWithOCDSon]

Yes! While we feared it, frankly, orthodonture was definitely a positive for our DS. He had both braces and an expander (tried a headgear, but that was miserable for him as he had trouble sleeping with it). I thought maybe it was the fact that the pressure in his mouth from the appliances and the shifting of the teeth was commanding some of his attention, so his focus on other, OCD-tendency stuff, downshifted. Based on Kim's post, however, now I need to jump on the TS forum and see what that's all about! Very interesting!

[jan251]

Hmmm, well this is interesting http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/have-dentists-discovered-a-new-treatment-for-tourettes-syndrome?show_all=1

 

These cranial nerves control the front of the face, the sides of the face, and the lower digestive tract. Sims and Stack believe that if these nerves are compressed together, they may engage in cross talk, similar to a short circuit, transferring nerve impulses from one to another, partially bypassing the higher control centers of the brain. The stronger the nerve impulse, the harder it is for the higher levels of the brain—which are the usual targets of drug treatments—to intervene and stop the tic.

Dr. Sims and Dr. Stack treat Tourette's syndrome by relieving the physical pressure on the nerves entering the base of the brain so there is less cross talk. They have developed a plastic dental appliance they call a neurocranial vertical distractor, which "distracts" the fibers entering the base of the brain from the cross talk of neighboring nerves. Fitting over the lower teeth, it holds the lower jaw in place so there is less pressure on the base of the brain. Wearing this appliance 24 hours a day reduces symptoms of Tourette's disease in adults, as you can see on You Tube. When the proper spacing of the jaws is determined, these dentists report, all tics cease immediately:

However, part of this particular article seems incorrect:

 

In the early 2000's, researchers began investigating a PANDAS theory of the origins of Tourette's, the acronym standing for pediatric autoimmune neurological disorder associated with Streptococcus. Strep throat and strep infections of the ear were thought to trigger an autoimmune reaction in the brain that would cause dysfunctions of the frontal cortex, thalamus, and/or the basal ganglia in the brain. Surgeons then tried implanting devices to provide electrical stimulation to these parts of the brain as a surgical therapy for Tourette's.

But none of these treatments has been reliably effective, or even generally helpful, and none of the theories of the origins of Tourette's has stood up to repeated testing. Fortunately, two dentists named Anthony Sims and Brendan Stack seem to have uncovered both the origins and an effective non-pharmaceutical, non-surgical treatment for the disease

 

...which casts a bad light on the general idea. Perhaps, like everything else, there's a possibility that for some kids it might be one piece of the puzzle?

 

Obviously, in my son's case, it wouldn't explain the immune abnormalities and the positive infection tests (strep/myco/lyme&co), but it might explain why he seemed so much happier during the palate expander phase (the sudden-onset OCD that followed was such a huge let-down! I thought things were moving in the right direction and then bam!). If it is a puzzle piece, it could be the reason or part of the reason that we haven't seen much relief yet with antibiotics and supplements.

 

Now I want to talk to the ortho - I don't expect he'll know anything but there's a chance he might be willing to research a little. Our consult is two months away. Grow teeth, grow! (hmmm, he's off dairy; maybe his teeth could use more calcium though supplementing that has seemed unhelpful in the past)

 

ETA: an interesting article http://prettyinprimal.blogspot.com/2011/05/epigenetic-orthodontics-building-better.html (Hey I just had a wacky idea - I remember reading that some docs think they can "see" autism in a child's face. For some reason, this idea kind of bothered me intuitively, as if the cause were solely genetic, i.e. that would seem to be an oversimplification. Whatever the cause of the facial structural anomalies discussed in this article, suppose they contributed somehow to neuropsychiatric issues of various kinds? Maybe some sort of inter-relationship between structure and immune issues? What about that new discovery with the lymph vessels to the brain - suppose there was some sort of structural impact on them?)

 

Another link about facial structure http://www.mouthmattersbook.com/2013/12/08/facial-meltdown-if-a-form-in-nature-isnt-beautiful-something-is-wrong/

 

(incidentally, my ds was born with a full tongue-tie that was corrected by an ENT when he was a baby but he sometimes complains that he doesn't think he has full motion though I don't have a way to know for sure...)

Edited June 24, 2015 by jan251

[kim]

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/24039226_Tourette%27s_syndrome_a_pilot_study_for_the_discontinuance_of_a_movement_disorder

 

Jan and M/OCDson,

 

If there is anything interesting here, will you let the rest of us know?

I didn't know if any of your links had diagrams Jan so thought this might help with you ortho appt.

Edited June 25, 2015 by kim

[pr40]

i can tell you of the case, a child of an orthodontist had braces, rather early, and then a year later developed PANDAS with anxiety as her main symptom.

perhaps, braces come at the age when pediatric (hormonal) part of the condition changes. or there is a change in the immune system.