Sleep Apnea Dentist, Arthur M. Strauss, DDS Retired
Special Interest in
the Dental Management of Snoring,
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and
Awake Related Oral Function Issues


Arthur M. Strauss, DDS Retired
Diplomate, American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine *

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Articles - Your Health Magazine, September 2008

The Origin of Most Chronic Musculo-Skeletal Pain Is From Impaired Oral Function, Part II

Consider yourself that person, whose posture is less than ideal, and do the exercise described in part one of this article. Then consider the stress on the muscles that are required to stabilize your (on average) eight pound skull that is in front of the center of gravity of the body and its impact upon all of the muscles and bones from the top of the skull to the end of the toes. Also consider that it is in three dimensions (has a sideways and vertical component) as seen in scoliosis.

A patient of mine, in his late fifties was surprised when relating to his hunched over position I suggested the relationship that I just described. He assured me that his scoliosis was diagnosed in his early teens. We both knew that his receded jaw was present from birth. We suspect that over his pre-teen years his postural body compensations to manage his airway lead to the postural changes that became apparent to him and his family through a medical diagnosis of scoliosis.

Perhaps, if we had all been aware of this from birth and were able to bring his lower jaw forward (another CPR maneuver) through dental intervention, he would be standing much more upright and without musculo skeletal symptoms. Appropriate dental intervention may reverse some of the structural changes and can help future generations of his family who inherit a similar jaw relationship.

I suggest that when you treat the symptoms without addressing the underlying cause the body will continue to compensate resulting in other symptoms from other compensations and/or return of the original symptoms.

In the current edition of Snore No More Dr. Robson explains the extraordinary results that doctors and patients are seeing with oral systemic balance (OSB) therapies as “the closer we are to the cause of a problem, the better and more rapid are the results of treatment.”

Treating the cause, instead of just the symptoms, and partnering with other practitioners including chiropractors, optometrists, neurologists, psychiatrists, and others can produce profound results. Specialists are continually impressed by the way their treatment results are enhanced by OSB therapy that addresses the underlying anatomical conditions.

It has always seemed unlikely that the broad list of symptoms many patients have would be the result of several independent disorders, all striking a single person at one time. OSB diagnosis helps get to the root cause of many of these disorders and OSB therapy helps resolve a whole spectrum of symptoms at once.

* Denotes a board certified Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM). The board is self designated and does not confer recognized specialty status by any certifying organization. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recognizes the Diplomate status granted by the ABDSM. All Diplomate applicants must hold (at a minimum) a dental degree (D.D.S. or D.M.D.) or its equivalent and an active unrestricted license to practice dentistry in addition to completing an extensive application process, including presenting case studies and taking a written exam.

Arthur M. Strauss, DDS Retired

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