J. Scholten (1), C. Westersund (2), RJ. Turner (3)
- Private Practice, Suite 104-4600 Crowchild Trail NW, Calgary, AB
Private Practice, 801 6 St SW, Calgary, AB
Dept of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary.
Background:
The integration of care between chiropractors focused on treating disorders of the cranial cervical junction (CCJ) and dentists treating dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (TMD) has developed as clinicians seek novel and effective integrative patient management strategies for solutions for patients with TMD. Clinical observation and anecdotal reports suggest changes to the dental occlusion following an adjustment to the CCJ using the procedure developed by The National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA).
Purpose:
To investigate whether there is there is a change in occlusion that can be measured using a dental force plate following a NUCCA adjustment to the CCJ.
Methods:
A pre-post case series wherein patients served as their own controls by being assessed twice prior to and twice following an intervention. Active patients at a private NUCCA clinic, with occlusal imbalances, were invited to participate and eleven volunteered. All eleven patients received one NUCCA intervention. Data were collected twice prior to the NUCCA intervention and twice following the intervention. Measures collected were leg length, postural position, and cervical paraspinal thermographic evaluation (by a NUCCA team member); and occlusion was evaluated with a dental occlusal analysis system, the T-Scan (by the dental team member). Patient outcomes were observed for consistency between pre-pre and post-post measurements as compared to pre-post measurements. Standard deviations of the mean and t-test of the data is used to compare the measures taken before and after the NUCCA adjustment and between patients.
Results & Conclusions:
Findings obtained in this first study of its kind demonstrate that changes in both posture and occlusion can be observed after the NUCCA chiropractic procedure. However, we found that patients tend to have unique responses with some showing a shift in initial occlusal contact and others lending to a more balance contact pattern. Our findings demonstrate further the interconnectivity of the CCJ and an individual’s bite and related discomfort.