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Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 30,867
Master Elite Member
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Newsletter 2011, Vol. 12 |
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Mercury Fillings Under Fire at FDA Town Hall Meeting in Orlando last week
Our very own Dr. Kirk
Youngman spoke at the Town Hall Meeting advocating mercury free dentistry. The FDA heard the message loud and clear and assured us it would not be ignored.
The following article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on May 5th.
"Mercury in Dental Fillings comes under Fire at FDA Meeting in Orlando
"The debate over the continued use of mercury in dental fillings was the focus of Thursday's FDA town-hall meeting in Orlando as more than a dozen anti-mercury activists demanded that the government restrict or ban them.
"Although mercury is considered toxic, the Food and Drug Administration has classified amalgam fillings - the silver-colored fillings, which contain mercury - as safe. Activists noted that several European counties, including Sweden, Denmark and Norway, have banned use of mercury fillings in recent years.
"Although dentists can use other types of fillings - composite materials or gold - experts say that these are more expensive than the mercury alternatives.
"At the Orlando hearing, FDA officials - led by Dr. Jeff Shuren, head of the agency's Center for Devices and Radiologic Health - said they have reconvened a scientific panel to study the agency's position on amalgam fillings. Shuren would not say, however, what action the agency might take - or when a decision might be made.
" 'If I had my druthers, I would like to say something this year,' said Shuren, adding that the agency would have to reconsider the scientific and legal issues.
" 'I empathize with all the people who have experienced medical problems, whatever the cause may be,' Shuren said. 'We take it seriously, which is why we've reconvened our scientific advisory panel.'
"Among those at the Orlando town-hall meeting was Freya Koss of Pennsylvania.
" 'I am one of millions of Americans who have suffered grave medical costs from mercury dental fillings,' said Koss, who said she was diagnosed with lupus, multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis in 1998, after a dentist removed a mercury-laden amalgam filling and replaced it with a similar one. Within a week, Koss began experiencing double vision, droopy eyelids and a loss of equilibrium. Her symptoms gradually disappeared, she said, after she had her mercury fillings removed.
"Also lining up to speak were three dentists, including Dr. James Hardy of Winter Park, who does not put in mercury fillings. Hardy, author of a book titled "Mercury Free," said that any unused dental amalgam is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of carefully.
" 'After it [an amalgam filling] is taken out of a patient's mouth, it is treated as hazardous waste,' Hardy said. 'But somehow, when it is in the patient's mouth, it is not.'
"Because much of the debate focuses on the extraction of the mercury during removal of old fillings, Hardy takes it a step further. He has invested in a system that prevents particles of mercury from being spread through the air.
"This is the second FDA town-hall meeting where anti-mercury activists have dominated the agenda. The first, held in Dallas in March, featured dentists and consumers who complained that mercury caused a myriad of health problems.
"Yet the American Dental Association says that dental amalgam 'is considered a safe, affordable and durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100 million Americans.'
Click here for the complete article
By Linda Shrieves,
Orlando Sentinel
May 5, 2011
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The Secret
These items can be purchased as a kit or individually.
"The Secret" is an inexpensive, easy to use tool for at-home care of your teeth. Please click on this link for complete written instructions on how to take care of the acidic condition that exists in 99% of people's mouths.
Also, Dr. Behm explains "The Secret" and demonstrates its use in this video on YouTube.
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Hi Russ,
So what is with all of those wires and gadgets that some of our patients are connected to?
What are they for and what do they do?
These gadgets are used for the Neuromuscular Dentistry side of our practice. We have mentioned the word Neuromuscular Dentistry in some of our past emails but what is that word again?
According to the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI):
Neuromuscular Dentistry places the jaw into its optimal position, relieving the symptoms associated with TMJ. While traditional dentistry evaluates primarily the teeth, bones, and gums, neuromuscular dentistry works with the hard tissues and the soft tissues, muscles and nerves.
Neuromuscular dentists understand that your hard and soft tissues have a complex relationship and work to make that relationship a harmonious one. Neuromuscular dentists understand the necessity for including the power source (muscles) and the controls (nerves), which create the movement, pressures, and function of the mouth.
When the jaw is misaligned, both the hard and soft tissues are affected and many problems can result, such as:
headaches,
jaw pain,
neck and shoulder pain,
tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, and
clicking or popping sounds in the jaw joint.
In a number of cases, these symptoms are the result of TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome), also referred to as TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder) or MPD (myofascial pain dysfunction).
Temporomandibular Joint
TMJ / TMD is a chronic degenerative disease that often takes years to develop. TMJ affects millions of people. People who suffer from TMJ have an imbalance in the jaw-to-skull relationship, which is caused by a bad bite (malocclusion).
One of the most common questions that we are asked here at Natural Dentistry is what devices or technology would we use to help find the most optimum jaw position.
The first piece of equipment that we use to help locate the most optimal jaw position is the K7 evaluation system.
K7 evaluation system by Myotronics
The K7 evaluation system allows us to do a series of tests or scans on the patient. The K7 provides us three different ways to look at each patient's condition. The three different pieces of technology are the jaw tracking device, jaw joint sonography, and electromyography.
The jaw-tracking device is placed over the patient's head and sits on the bridge of the patient's nose. The jaw tracker follows a little magnet that is placed in the patient's mouth just behind their lower lip.
The headgear is read by the magnet and this allows us to see a bunch of different things like how far the patient can open their mouth, he can see if there are any clicks or bumps while opening or closing. The primary purpose of this device is so we can coach the patient into the most optimal jaw location. | |
The illustration above shows a stock photo of a patient with the jaw-tracking device on her head. As the patient opens and closes, a very small magnet placed behind the lower lip is read by the two "squares" that are on the left and right side of the patient's cheeks.
This allows us to see exactly how a patients jaw tracks in various positions on the computer screen. This is a little bit off of topic but look at her shoulder to the right side of the picture, it is really low and we understand that a bad "bite" could be influencing this condition.
The K7 allows us to look at the muscle activity of the head, face, and neck in a relaxed state and how the muscles are when the teeth are together. This is very valuable information because in an ideal condition we want the muscles to be relaxed in both circumstances.
The piece of equipment below is called Electromyography or EMG. There are four muscle groups that this device allow us to monitor. All of these muscle groups can be adversely impacted by an improper jaw alignment to tooth relationship.
EMG's or Electromyography
Here is the same patient with just the EMG leads on her face. Here we are performing the tests on two muscle groups, those near the patient's temples and on the patient's cheeks. These two muscle groups are very valuable in determining any stresses that are caused during the patients chewing cycle or when their teeth come together.
The temple muscles are usually the culprits when it comes to evaluating a person who gets frequent headaches. Do you get headaches frequently? Do you find yourself massaging you temple muscles often? If this is the case then we may be able to help you here at Natural Dentistry.
The last piece of equipment that is associated with the K7 is the sonography device. Sonography means the analysis of sound using an instrument that produces a graphical representation of its frequencies. The sonography aspect of the K7 system allows us to listen into the jaw joint by analyzing the different frequencies that a patient makes upon maximum opening and closing.
The sonography placement is directly over the TMJ or the jaw joint itself. Once this test is complete we can analyze the data that was collected to understand the severity of the jaw joint condition. A healthy jaw joint will not have varying high and low frequencies as the patient opens and closes. The sound frequencies will all stay relatively stable throughout the entire opening and closing cycles.
Sonography
Here is an example of the same patient with the sonography apparatus placed directly over her TMJ. It looks just like a set of headphones, doesn't it? They work exactly opposite though. Rather than making sounds, these headphones pick up the sounds that the jaw joint may or may not produce.
Once all of the tests have been done and all of the information has been acquired, then the best option for treatment can be provided. In some cases the patient will wear a Neuromuscular TMJ splint to let the jaw joint heal.
 
Neuromuscular lower TMJ splint
This appliance is generally worn for two months, then further testing may be required to see how the body is responding.
This clear appliance usually goes over the lower teeth and is not really visible by others. This is not a permanent appliance; a more permanent solution option would be given at the end of this therapeutical endeavor.
Remember that this device is strictly to optimize ones health and to get the jaw into the most optimal position. This is not a cosmetic appliance, but it holds the patient in their own unique neuromuscular position where the nerves, bones, teeth and muscles are the most favorable for the him/her.
The K7 evaluation system by Myotronics is one of the most valuable pieces of dental equipment that we have here in the office for diagnosing problems outside of just the mouth.
In all, the K7 allows us to do upwards of 19 tests in total. When we are looking for the most optimal position for a patients jaw to be in, we know that we can count on the K7 to find this position.
Feel free to call the office at (727) 446-6747 with any questions or comments that you may have regarding this newsletter. Also, please check out our website at www.BehmNaturalDentistry.com to learn more about what makes our practice perhaps the most cutting edge holistic practice in the entire state of Florida. | |
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