1996 | Orthodontic Ordeal and Detour
The Long and Winding Road
Paul McCartney, arr. Lanz
![](https://cranialconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Santa-Monica.jpg)
The Road Not Less Traveled
The California Orthodontic adventure
began in the early 1990’s.
The journey was short and sweet into Orange County
– 45 minutes by air from Phoenix.
However, travelling from Orange County to Santa Monica on the 405 was longer than 45 minutes
– and another story!
An unexpected perk:
I was able to stay with “a friend of a friend” in Orange County when I made these California trips!
This was truly a blessing.
When treating TMD, this orthodontist bonded pivots to teeth to manipulate jaw position. In line with the concept of cranial motion, there was no restriction of motion in the upper (maxilla) or lower (mandible) jaws with splints that crossed the midline. He also had his own ‘version’ of cranial Osteopathy, Trauma Release Therapy (TRT), a hands-on treatment of the body done before adjusting the jaw position with pivots. Over time, my occlusion was built up, with my bite becoming more open.
After many months and adjustments with the pivots, the orthodontist became alarmed because my molars were beginning to ‘extrude’. Therefore, the pivots on my teeth were removed. This involved several millimeters of adjustment since he had been working for over a year to achieve 8 – 9 millimeters of height. Within a week of this extreme change in my bite, my neck and back started reacting. Unfortunately, my Osteopath was in the Northeast with a family emergency and was unavailable for several months.
Within two weeks, I was forced to use crutches to walk. The orthodontist had never had this experience with a patient.
I was once again ‘out-of-the-box’ in response to treatment. For many months, I was not only on crutches but also was in and out of a wheelchair as well. I vividly remember my daughter pushing me in a wheelchair across the parking lot of our local mall, riding in the mobilized grocery cart and running into the minister from my ‘organ playing challenge’ church, not to mention maneuvering on crutches at the airport to fly to California. My piano students thought the wheelchair was ‘cool’; this was not my sentiment at all. I was treated by other cranial Osteopaths but was unable to regain my mobility. The orthodontic occlusal adjustments continued as did the bodywork. However, the crutches and the wheelchair continued to be my companions. My osteopath, traveling back and forth between the Northeast and Phoenix for over a year, was shocked at what had transpired with this occlusal adjustment.
One of his colleagues had mentioned a gentleman in Santa Monica who worked with energy. Since I continued to travel to Orange County, he suggested I should pay him a visit on one of my orthodontic appointments. I took the information, willing to investigate this avenue. The orthodontist had never heard of this person.
The rental car found its way
from Orange County to Santa Monica on the Los Angeles freeway system.
The freeways were a maze.
The Santa Monica experience was
a-mazing.
![](https://cranialconnection.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Modified-Yin-Yang-ALL-transparent-994x1024.png)
This ‘Detour’
surpassed any encounter
that I could have ever imagined!