Like I mentioned before, I suffer from a severe case of TMJ. I have worn three different nightguards by three different practitioners since I was diagnosed. The first was a huge, bulky hard plastic splint that barely fit into my mouth. The next was a small hunk of plastic that fit (a little too) snugly over my two front teeth. And the most recent is called an 'Oral Systemic Balance' appliance that I wear over my bottom teeth. It is made of a thin, pliable plastic and there is a hole cut out in the center for my bottom front teeth to fit through, making more room for my large tongue in my small mouth.
The first thing the doctor said to me upon examination surprisingly had nothing to do with my jaw itself, or even my teeth, but rather my tongue. "You have a ten-gallon tongue in a five-gallon mouth." I had never even pondered the ratio of my tongue size to my mouth size before. And I certainly never thought something as seemingly insignificant as a large tongue could potentially be affecting my health. According to Dr. Robson, people with large tongues naturally have more restricted airways. Throw in a narrow palate and large teeth and it's a recipe for TMJ. Not only TMJ though. Dr. Robson is the only TMJ doctor I know who performs EKGs and takes an orthostatic blood pressure reading during appointments. In fact, he did not seem all that concerned about my actual TMJ pain or limited mobility, but he was very concerned with my autonomic dysfunction. I did not tell him I had POTS, but he diagnosed me with autonomic dysfunction on his own. According to Dr. Robson and his staff, large tongues in small mouths play a factor in many debilitating illnesses such as Parkinson's Disease, Fibromyalgia, and, most commonly, Autonomic Dysfunction. Because the airway is chronically obstructed by the tongue, much like in patients with sleep apnea, the bodily tissues are not properly oxygenated, and often even starved for oxygen. The continual shortage of oxygen does not allow the body to heal itself or thrive.
I have been wearing my Oral Systemic Balance appliance religiously every night for the past year and in that time have witnessed some significant improvement in my overall health. My resting heart rate is lower, I breathe easier at night, and my TMJ headaches occur much less frequently than before. Let's just say if I happen to miss a night of wearing my appliance, I suffer from the effects for days. After my personal struggle with both TMJ and POTS, I have to wonder if Dr. Robson may be on to something promising here, especially for dysautonomia patients. If you have any jaw problems, breathing problems or sleep apnea issues, I would recommend consulting an Oral Systemic Balance practitioner in your area. Remember, it is not a standard nightguard. It is fitted to your individual mouth and problem, and intended to improve health issues beyond TMJ.
