I am deeply grateful to the patients shown in the following videos who have so graciously allowed these videos to be made public. They have done so with the hope that their stories will help others who suffer from the symptoms that had plagued their lives for years. I am also very grateful to Dr. Farrand Robson of Tacoma, Washington for his personal guidance and for his extraordinary service to mankind in developing Oral Systemic Balance therapy, the therapy which has changed the lives of the people shown in these videos. For an overview of the concepts behind Oral Systemic Balance, please visit the Oral Systemic Balance home page.

This patient was referred to me by her physiatrist, a physician who specializes in pain management. As many patients with impaired oral function do, she suffered from both sleep apnea and chronic head and neck pain. She is shown below at her consultation appointment. Her pertinent symptoms are in edited video.

The following video shows her describing her symptoms immediately prior to being fitted with an OSB orthotic.

Her almost immediate symptom relief is shown here:

The following video is a pre-treatment review of the symptoms experienced by this patient prior to treatment. While some people experience very mild symptoms, his symptoms were quite severe and debilitating.

The following video is from various clips that were filmed during the appointment in which the above patient’s Oral Systemic Balance orthotic was delivered.

If this above patient had not been having a good day with relatively little pain, he would have likely experienced the dramatic and sudden pain relief that the following patient experienced on the day that her orthotic was delivered. This video starts with a review of the symptoms of significant pain that she was experiencing at that moment. In the first few minutes of the video she will be testing her range of motion as she turns her head from side to side. Notice the involuntary grimace as she turns her neck to her right.

I have known the patient in the above video for some time and had no idea of the level of pain that she was experiencing. I was astonished when I found how much pain she had endured over the years because she was always extremely pleasant to be around. To know that someone can experience this much chronic discomfort with this kind of grace sets a high standard. To be present and a part of watching this intense pain disappear before my eyes as we worked together was an honor. Again, I am grateful for her willingness to share her experience in this manner and to Dr. Robson for his help in my learning his technique of Oral Systemic Balance. To put this patient’s level of pain prior to having the Oral Systemic Balance orthotic placed into perspective, the video that was recorded when we had our initial consultation is posted below. She was very willing to have this information made public to help others with similar pain.

During the initial consultation in the above video, this patient mentions that she feels “tense for no reason” and that she is “comfortable with stress” and if stress is not present she “will seek it out”. Dr. Robson’s premise is that, for many patients, seeking out stress is an important part of their survival mechanism that is necessary to keep their airway open and not choking every time they swallow. To better understand this, review the information presented in the Oral Systemic Balance home page. Remember that every swallowing event is an opportunity to choke or drown. For those whose tongue/epiglottis swallowing mechanism is working well, this is natural and easy. For those with a swallow imbalance, the body needs to be on a constant state of alert. Seeking out stress is a natural way of increasing adrenalin levels and maintaining this state of being alert.

Three weeks after the initial placement of the Oral Systemic Balance orthotic, this most wonderful woman shown above discusses the amazing changes that she has experienced in her body using her orthotic. I have learned much working with her and listening to her insight about, in her words, “the opportunity” that the orthotic has presented her in her process of healing. After listening to her, it becomes impossible to not feel tremendous gratitude to Dr. Robson for his work in developing this therapy.

The following three videos are of my office team members who have been treated with Oral Systemic Balance orthotics. The team member in the first video is a wonderful young woman who is one of my hygienists. As she mentions in the video, she had suffered for quite some time with severe daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Her greatest area of body pain was her feet. Notice her comments about being able to breathe better through her nose as a result of wearing her orthotic and her relief of foot pain and numbness. She was one of the first people that I treated with an Oral Systemic Balance orthotic. I knew that she was experiencing foot pain and numbness prior to this treatment but had no expectation that this pain would be relieved with her mandibular orthotic. At the end of the appointment that the orthotic was placed and as she was walking away from the dental chair she casually mentioned that her feet weren’t hurting so much, but I gave it little thought. The next day we were both surprised that the chronic pain and numbness in her feet had disappeared. Now, after treating quite a few more patients with this therapy, relief of foot and hand pain and numbness has become common as has an increased ease of breathing through the nose.

Another one of my hygienists is shown in the video below. She had no discernible neck pain but was having periodic headaches and was having periodic bouts of numbness in fingers and toes as well as sciatic pain.

When an Oral Systemic Balance orthotic is placed, there can be varying degrees of adjustment necessary to get a physiological effect. In this situation, very little adjustment was necessary for changes to take place. Notice the amazed look on her face after the orthotic was placed and one minute later the very tender trigger point area in her neck no longer hurt. Also notice her comments about the sciatic pain in her leg.

While we have yet had time to record a post-treatment follow-up video, I can report that she is no longer having headaches, numbness in fingers and toes nor any sciatic pain following the seating of the orthotic.

This team member of The Center for Sound Sleep, talks about her pain relief immediately after the insertion of her Oral Systemic Balance orthotic.

To see more clearly the effect of the Oral Systemic Balance orthotic on the swallow, look at the following video. Notice that the first swallows without the orthotic in place have the sound of a “gulp” when the water goes down. With the orthotic in place, the swallow is much quieter.

Another example of a dramatically increased ease of swallowing is shown below. The entire video is not shown for privacy reasons, however the increased ease of swallowing was accompanied with an elimination of head and neck pain as well as successful management of mild sleep apnea.

This patient had a long history of head and neck pain. In fact, her neck pain was so severe and contributing to numbness in her hand that she had a surgical procedure to attempt pain relief. Notice her comments about swallowing difficulty and her shallow breathing.

This same patient experiences quick and dramatic pain relief as well as a significant increase of range of motion in her neck after having the Oral Systemic Balance orthotic placed.

The patient below has tried for years to get relief from frequent migraines as well as neck and shoulder pain. In this appointment her customary head and neck pain is diminished due to her very recent chiropractic appointment.

The video below is a collage of clips taken from the initial consultation, the treatment appointment as well as the follow-up appointment. Notice the dramatic reduction of pain symptoms from the initial consultation appointment to the follow-up appointment. It is interesting to note that much of the initial pain that she had experienced for years and was describing at the consultation appointment had been forgotten by the time of the follow-up appointment.

Another example of sudden pain relief in someone who had suffered for a long time is shown below.

The following patient was interviewed immediately following an appointment in which his Oral Systemic Balance orthotic was delivered. Again, notice the IMMEDIATE relief of symptoms that was experienced.

Five weeks later this patient was back in our office with his wife for a follow-up appointment. They both graciously agreed to share their experience with the results of his wearing his Oral Systemic Balance orthotic over the past five weeks. Pay attention to his comments about relief of numbness in his hands and feet.

The following young man had experienced an asymptomatic click in his jaw joint as he opened and closed his mouth for years. Then he had his wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon. The stress on his jaw joint from his mouth being open so wide and so long during oral surgery caused the click to become worse. Almost immediately, he started suffering from a wide range of symptoms that he describes below. Pay attention to his comments about the numbness that he experiences in his legs and feet.

The following video is a record of the above patient’s symptom relief at the end of the appointment where he received his lower Oral Systemic Balance orthotic.

The following is a one month follow-up from the time of the appointment recorded above. There was a dramatic, but not complete elimination of symptoms. One month after wearing the orthotic, this patient still has periodic headaches. It is interesting to note that in the initial video, this patient mentions numbness in his feet as being unrelated to his other symptoms. However, in this video, he mentions that this numbness is gone. As you can see from the above videos, relief of foot pain and numbness in not uncommon with OSB therapy. It is worth repeating, that Oral Systemic Balance practitioners do not treat foot pain and numbness. We focus on correcting a swallow dysfunction. From that point on, the body does the rest.

For basic information on the concepts behind Oral Systemic Balance, go to the Oral Systemic Balance home page.

For information on finding a qualified Oral Systemic Balance practitioner, contact Dr. Farrand Robson's office at 800-977-1945.

To see other videos of patients who have had their health altered with Oral Systemic Balance therapy, visit Dr. John Laughlin’s website.