Sunday 15 May 2011

Mouth Splint

We spent a very long weekend in Torquay at a Dentist as part of a trial  researching the TMD mouthsplint to see if it can help tics.
The boys were extremely good sitting in the dentists for 3 hours on Saturday and nearly 6 hours on Sunday.
Xrays and impressions were made Saturday, from this a device was made which enabled him to build up and alter parts of the mould  to alter the 'bite'. Wont go into technicalities (because I cant remember to be honest !) but the upshot was as he got closer to the 'optimum' bite we clearly saw the tics reduce.  It was amazing.  At one point he wanted to go a bit further on one of the adjustments and it bought the tics back on.
I am probably not explaining my self very well but you can check out this procedure by looking at a webiste of Dr Simms or Dr Stacks in the USA.  There are some Youtube videos too.  This shows the tics stopping as soon as the mouth splint was put in.  This may make you sceptical as you watch it, however we witnessed that today ourselves. 
The boys were recorded on video yesterday with very bad tics.  Today they were recorded again with tics, then the temporary device was put in the mouth and the tics died down. As soon as the device was taken out the tics started up again.  To be recorded they were sitting on my husbands lap, he said he could feel how tense they were without the device and how their bodies relaxed when it was put back in.

Should receive the mouthsplint in about a weeks time, then we will see if this effect lasts over time.

Watch this space, very interesting or 'freaky' as Ben put it !!
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8 comments:

  1. Anonymous18 May 2011 at 01:04

    I'd seen some of the youtube videos and I have to admit I didn't believe it. Sounds interesting though, is it through the NHS?

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    Replies
    1. Seonaid17 June 2013 at 02:43

      Please go to http://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/dental-therapies
      The cost of the therapy ranged from £3600 to over £10,000. This treatment is only available privately. We have heard informally from the US that the cost of the treatment there is around $3000. The NHS would be very unlikely to offer the treatment unless is shown to be effective in a rigorous trial of the kind planned in America.

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  2. Twinmum18 May 2011 at 01:45

    Hi
    The mouthsplint is recognised I believe as a treatment for TMJ/TMD but I dont know if it is available on NHS. To my knowledge it is not available for Tourettes Syndrome as its not recognised and its in early stages of research. Dr Stacks and Dr Simms seemed to stumble upon the fact that it reduced tics whilst treating the TMJ symptoms, and then began to look into it. The guy we saw is doing research for his University degree and is using the results for his thesis. However Dr Patrick Grossman also does this but it is expensive, he is based in London near Harley Street. When we saw him he did some manual measurements and felt the boys did not meet the criteria. The guy we saw at the weekend was far more thorough and explained that there is no specific measurement as it is based on the individual, so we felt that Mr Grossman perhaps did not go far enough in investigating the boys 'bite'. I will keep this blog updated with our progress.

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  3. Unknown24 May 2013 at 12:14

    Hi,
    My 13 year old son and 5 year old Daughter has Tourettes and my 3 year old is now showing signs. We have been doing some research on mouth splints and was just wondering how your boys have been getting on with them.
    Would be really grateful for any information.

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  4. Seonaid17 June 2013 at 02:30

    Can dental therapies treat Tourette Syndrome?
    At Tourettes Action we have heard from several members about a new type of dental therapy that might help their Tourettes. This involves the use of wooden or plastic implants (splints) placed at the back of the mouth, in a region known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
    To date, no formal clinical trials have been carried out to determine how effective TMJ therapy is for Tourettes and therefore we would like to know what you think.
    If you have had any form of dental therapy or are thinking of trying this treatment specifically for Tourette Syndrome (implants or TMJ therapy), we would really appreciate your help by filling out a short survey.
    Please take some time to fill in your responses as fully and accurately as possible. All answers will be treated with the strictest of confidence - your contact details will only be used by Tourettes Action and will not be passed on to any third parties.

    Please go to http://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/dental-therapies
    to complete our short questionnaire and see preliminary results of our survey into dental implants

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lizzie Cornish4 August 2013 at 05:44

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lizzie Cornish4 August 2013 at 05:46

    Hello there, can you give me the name and address of the dentist you used, please? I know someone with Tourettes who is suffering greatly, and strangely, we both live in Torquay

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  7. Unknown15 February 2019 at 11:54

    Hi could you list the dentist in Devon please that you went to. I'm in that area so it would be interesting to know. Thank you

    ReplyDelete

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