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"ALF APPLIANCE"

Would like to know if anyone has tried an "ALF APPLIANCE" to realign their upper jaw?
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Avatar universal
Again, I want to thank you, I got this after reading the other one you posted.  Thanks so much for the reassurance.  I really wasn't sure as its hard to get such questions answered.  I am glad you check this site out and are one of the few willing to help to assist others in this perdiciment.  I can't thank you enough.  If you want to add anything which you have really been extremely helpful.  You can click on seek and find and click on email and send me one that way.  They don't seem to allow anyone to post their emails directly on here.  Again I am grateful that although you are busy you take the time to assist others on here...

Take Care,

Seekandfind46

Therese...:-)

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Avatar universal
Hi,  I can hopefully make this easy for you.  I know Dr Freedman and have learned from a lot of the same Dr's he's mentioned.  I would start with his treatment first.  There are published studies that show arthroscopic surgery leaves the articular disc more displaced and more deformed AFTER surgery.  That's not what you need.  I have seen this in quite a few patients and their symptoms were not resolved and the function not improved.  Yes, it can be appropriate treatment and I have 1-2% of my patients get surgery. But always start with conservative, non-invasive therapy first.  Everybody with disc displacements have damaged joints, i.e, soft tissue damage.  That doesn't mean it needs surgery.  Hope that helps,  TMJDoc
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Avatar universal
Hi There,

Thanks so much for your responses, there are greatly appreciated.  I would really like to know who are some of the dental specialists you know here in Ontario.  I saw a Dr. Lawrence Freedman, not to long ago he is registered with Association for orofacial pain, and also the College for craniomandibular orthopedics, and is also a studied kinesiology, and has been a dentist for 20 years, not sure how much was spent on TMD.  Says he has also studied with Dr. Rondeau, and Dr. Stack in the US.  He uses the ALF, not sure for how long.  He says he has treated others that had neuralgia pain along with this.  I am sheduled to have an arthroscope this month.  I am apprehensive about it, but the Maxillofacial surgeon says there is a lot of scar tissue and I was wondering is that the only way to address getting rid of scar tissue.. Can this impede movement??  He doesn't rush things and wants me to be completely comfortable, but I am still apprehensive.  I know I have been told to try splints and other treatments, which I intend to but I really wanted to know the condition of my discs and the ligaments.  I know that if the ligaments are torn, or badly stretched that this condition will not be corrected.  Is this true??  Is that the reason why some don't get any relief??  I need to ask that question, because although I have heard some going to good specialists they still have not had relief.  Is there any way to get the ligaments functional again.  You see that is why I wanted to have this arthroscopy done, I want to know what condition my discs are in, and the surrounding ligaments bone, joint, ect... I asked for him (maxillofacial surgeon) not to touch my discs but merely remove whatever scar tissue he thought was impeding movement. I see him again before the surgery, and have more questions for him to answer... I would really like your feedback.  Also would like to know which collegues (dentist that specialize in TMJD) here in Ontario.  I am living in Burlington Ontario not too far from Toronto Ontario....  I would appreciate any feedback.  Thanks so much for your all reponses...

seekandfind46

Therese
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Avatar universal
I really do understand your dilema and frustrastraion.  I have heard all of these stories hundreds of times and I have finally learned to accept what I can and cannot do about improper care.  That is the only reason I have chosen to monitor this bulletin board--to help direct TMD sufferers to properly trained specialist.  You are correct that there are a lot of different disciplines that claim to have solutions.  Some, like surgery, are invasive, expensive, irreversible, and unfortunately the studies don't support the outcomes as being highly successful.  I would discourage having a discectomy without having done conservative treatment by an experience TMJ specialist first.  The TMJ specialist is best qualified to direct you to the proper care no matter what techniques or specialties are used to help solve the problem.  You mentioned that you were told you can't recapture dics--not entirely true.  But you don't necessarily need to--the TMjoint can readapt and is the only joint in the body that has the unique anatomy to do so.  Many of the pain dysfunctions involve cranial osteopathic problems--a 'torqued' skull for lack of a shorter description.  This can be a major cause of pain and can leave the TMJ in an inappropriate relationship or at least not allow the disc to function properly.  Chronic pain can become its own disease due to how our CNS reacts to pain stimulus.  Because of that competent clinicians can treat the pain source and still not resolve all the pain--extremely frustrating for all.  But that is an unusual circumstance.  You mentioned that you have found a dentists that uses ALF's and neuromuscular techniques.  (If someone ended up in more pain it was lack of proper diagnosis, not the ALF. )   I would encourage you to follow that line of treatment as it treats the fundemental structural problems.  If you aren't sure look at the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain website.  Look for someone with fellowship or diplomate status.  I know all of them in Ontario and I'm sure they can help.  You will probably need chiropractic or physical therapy to address related problems beyond the scope of dentistry.  One other note. Your dental board in Ontario has disciplined dentists for treatment that is 'mainstream' in other parts of the world--behind the times so to speak.  So not of lot of dentists have learned how to properly treat TMD in Ontario out of apprehension.  Just remember that this is a difficult problem to treat and no one has or will ever have all the answers.  We never intend to have our patients be 'lab rats', but you can't learn to do this by reading a book and our success rates (for well trained and experienced clinicians) is over 90%.  Nobody gets it 100%--well one person did, but they nailed him to a cross.  The rest of us are just human.    TMJ Doc
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Avatar universal
Hi Again,

Don't want to get you confused.  My last name on here was seekandfind46, and I forgot I changed it so it is under my name now.... Therese46.  One thing I left out, was I am hoping this can help me as the maxillofacial surgeon is talking about taking out my discs, and I am not wanting to go that route.  I hope my disc can still go back, I heard medial displacement is harder to get back into postion for some reason, but I am hoping that it will make some sort of difference, because what are the alternatives, but surgery, and more surgery.  Here in Canada, they don't even put anything between the discs, such as fat, as they do in the US, so that is also disheartening, because not everyone develops scar tissue to act as a buffer.  Do you know about that... I have heard of some really bad stories of them using some type of material that caused bacterial infection in some.  There are so many horror stories out there, no wonder people are looking for alternatives, but I just want to be sure as I don't have a bunch of money to throw out on this, if it doesn't work.  I know of some that had to go half way with their treatment, as they could not afford crowns and braces.  Most people in this situation are strapped for money, because of many reasons, for some in accidents awaiting settlements ect....  Many out there want to start up with TMJ in their practices, but who wants to be a lab rat, when they are in a extreme situation like this one.  I thank you for initially writing and am looking forward to hearing from you again...

Therese46



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Avatar universal
Hi,

Thanks for posting.  I am living in Canada, and finding it hard to find anyone, but came across someone that has studied neuromuscular dentistry with the best he mentioned some names and I did look them up and they have written book on this and have been in it for years, although this orthodontist, also does kinesiology and has studied neuromuscular dentistry, he says he in the field for 15 yr, but I don't know if he's been in TMJ arena that long.  He is super confident of himself, and seems to be as he is the only one that really seems to use these appliances.  I got hit on the side of a head, and then was in car accident within the space of two years.  Have bad disc displacement that is largely medially subluxed, and I am hoping that something can still be done for me, as the Maxillofacial surgeon I saw, is making me depressed.  He says the disc will never go back, on either side, as I have two displacements, but the left is the worst by far, the other side doesn't bother me, but I am having neuralgia pain on the left side, and as I have read a few times from a few of the big specialists that that can be caused by bad disc displacement causing the condylar head to be pushed out of postion into the nerve bed.  I think this may be my case, but I am in pain 24/7.  I really didn't know much about the alf, and read a bad story of someone that had one done, not by the dentist I saw but someone else in the Toronto, Ontario region, and she ended up with more pain.  But her problem had to do with infection, and not disc displacement, so I was wondering why the dentist went that route.  You are right the person has to know what they are doing, and I really don't know all that this person knows, but he seems to be into so many different things.  Alignment of posture, muscle testing, and seems to address where the postion of the neck and head are in.  He has good equipment... SOnographs..EMG, and Tomograms, not sure if that is the right word there.  But they are special x-rays to read the joint.  I only hope he is the right man for the job.  You see I have alot of cracking and crunching all through my side of my head, and there is alot of compression right through there, and I don't know if that is why he is thinking of using the ALF on me.   Would like to get your feedback on this if possible.  Thanks so much for responding...

Seekandfind46
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Avatar universal
Hi, I personally use the ALF often.  This appliance helps with cranial concepts that not many dentists have studied, as they are from osteopathic and chiropractic disciplines for cranial therapy.  It's far too complicated to explain in this short space, but if you find an TMD dentist that has sufficient training using this treatment concepts it can be extremely helpful in chronic pain TMD patients.  I know only of a few hundred dentists in North America that use them, so if you found one your lucky.  I have used ALF hundreds of times with some dramatic results for some patients.  But the Dr needs to know what he's doing with it.   Hope that helps,  TMJDoc
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