Other abnormalities within my mouth, throat, and nose, are present as well. This includes a lost sensation in my tongue after a procedure where I was intubated. I have since regained approximately 50% feeling back into my tongue, but no further progress a year and a half post procedure. I also have a deviated septum, discovered on a previous MRI scan. I had chronic congestion in my nose most of my life. Finally, I had a deeply cracked a tooth due to heavy teeth grinding at night that was given a crown.
To tackle my chronic jaw pain, I was referred to an orthodontist. After some procrastination, I finally made an appointment at the Centre for Integrative Orthodontics. My first visit was with Dr. Ed Lipskis.
The initial appointment began with measurements and pictures of all the structures in and around my mouth and face. I had pictures taken inside my mouth, and of my tongue in various positions. Measurements of my shoulders, neck rotation, and full body were snapped. A 3D scanning device was used to image my entire head. This will render images of the bone structures in my head, and some of the soft tissues as well.
The medical team and I discussed my main goals for treatment. These were written on a whiteboard and in my computer profile.
1. Stop damage caused by nightly teeth grinding.
2. Relieve muscle spasm pain in my jaw.
3. Investigate my tongue numbness.
Once the initial measurements and pictures were complete, the doctor (Dr. Ed Lipskis) arrived in the room to conduct my examination. As he progressed through the examination, the doctor explained to me what he saw, and how it could be effecting my daily functioning.
Diving into a fascinating examination to discover what it will reveal about my brain, breathing, and pain.
As I was laying on my back in the medical chair, open-mouthed, Dr. Ed provided the medical assistant codes and readings for each of his observations from my mouth, nose, and jaw area. After the facial exam, it was time to stand up for further examinations. Here is what I learned.
Mouth and Jaw Structures
Dr. Ed then pointed out my deviated septum, describing the direction of the curve for the record. He then made note of the alignment of my mouth to nose. After Dr. Ed made these verbal notes, he stated that most faces are asymmetrical. He told a story about how the only image of a face that he could find to be symmetrical, was an AI generated image of a face! For myself, it is now a matter of making sure asymmetry isn't leading to joint damage or breathing difficulty.
Moving on to the tongue, Dr. Ed wanted to know where my tongue rested in my mouth with my jaw closed. I told him my tongue was currently resting on top of my mouth, and not touching my teeth. He looked for himself and told me my tongue was actually pushing against my front teeth. It wasn't fitting in my mouth quite right. I know sometimes I have disorientation with where my limbs and body is in space, but my tongue? Who knew?
In terms of movement of my jaw, Dr. Ed explained the process and movement of the disc rotating upon opening and closing. When it is misaligned, the ligaments are the only thing holding the upper and lower jaw together. Muscle spasm can then form. I spoke about how I noticed when I closed my mouth during the examination, I felt my jaw move to the right, and then back into place. It is a very odd sensation that I have felt in my knee before when it moves. One of my general exercise goals, for my hypermobility, is building muscle strength around these joints to ensure they stays aligned.
Dr. Ed discussed with me how those with EDS have inflammation all over their bodies. There is inflammation in my jaw that is irritating me and causing me pain. He said we need to reduce inflammation, and align my jaw in order to open my airway to prevent mouth breathing.
Neurological Considerations
We talked about the critical functions of the nose and mouth how what your brain may sense is the most worrisome condition within your body, can actually be different from what I am thinking or feeling it is. The brain may recognize something is wrong in your jaw and then react to this threat. He said that my body is in fight or flight mode because the brain senses there is something wrong in my jaw. The mouth, jaw, nose, are critical to survival. This causes increases in heart rate and anxiety. He predicts that if we relieve the pain in the jaw, we may see a reduction in my increased heart rate and anxiety.
We further discussed nerve issues as it relates to breathing through my nose. He held a mirror under my nose and watched the fog formation to see if one nostril had better air flow. I told him I thought my right nostril had better airflow than my left. He said it was actually my left nostril with the better airflow. I couldn't believe there was such a disconnect with my brain. He said it is faulty nerve signals again.
Mouth-Breathing and Sleep Considerations
I was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Ed began to discuss the connection between mast cells and my breathing. He said that mast cells are worse when I am not breathing through my nose due to lack of CO2 present. Apparently CO2 prevents the mast cells from forming. This connection was completely knew to me. I told him before I received my diagnoses of mast cell activation syndrome, I was constantly congested as I did not know the cause nor how to treat it.
Interestingly I found out mouth breathing effected another structure in my mouth, my teeth. Mouth breathing tells the brain to allow the teeth to keep growing since the teeth are not touching. Dr. Ed was examining my gums when he observed this.
Beside the mouth breathing, we needed to take the grinding of my teeth. If I didn't get this under control, it would not only keep causing a sore jaw, but also could result in another deep tooth fracture. I was warned about this when I received the crown on my cracked tooth. The orthodontist wasn't sure if he could save the tooth but he did. This led the conversation to discussing how an appliance could assist in protecting my teeth and better align my jaw when I sleep.
Finally we tackled my posture. He said that forward head posture can develop when having difficulty breathing because this specific position opens the airway. He said that as my posture improves and corrects the forward head posture, that it may actually be closing my airway more. Dr. Ed feels that if we open my airway and stop the jaw irritation, that my posture may improve even more.
The experience I had with Dr. Lipskis and the medical staff was more than I could've hoped for. They were kind, patient, and informative. I knew I was in the best hands and on a path for some real relief. Dr. Ed performs lectures on these subjects, if I find any announcements, I can post them on the blog.
Laser Treatment
The appointment concluded where I was given a laser the treatment. The laser was made up of wavelengths to target inflammation. She lasered points along my jaw line, on both sides of my face, in order to reduce inflammation in my jaw. It was completed in about 3 to 5 minutes and I told her I felt a feeling of relaxation.
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