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Dentists who claim to alleviate symptoms of Tourette Syndrome, part 3

After the past two days (one and two), you likely know all you need to know about Dr. Stack and Dr. Sims, and their mouthpiece for Tourette Syndrome. Let me go on to say that, similar to the controversy over Brain Balance — a $6,000 program that promises to alleviate tics and other symptoms based on rewiring the brain through diet and specifically targeted exercises —  there is a lot to be skeptical about when it comes to Dr. Sims and Dr. Stack.

There’s not enough substantiated evidence that this works!” people say. “So what if some people say it works. These guys could be quacks!”

My response to these doubts is the same I give about Brain Balance, “Western Medical doctors are quick to hand out pills to kids to dull their brains and their tics, and those sometimes don’t work. In fact, no doctor even knows why a kid develops TS, so why is their pill more valid than an alternative treatment?

Because folk are more comfortable with traditional methods? That might be, but I don’t think Steve Jobs sat around in high school thinking, “You know, my passion for transmitting electronic information over invisible wires is not something the telephone company understands. I better just give up and sell newspapers.”

How can we not investigate everything for our children? No one is forcing a gun to my head to buy. I don’t feel desperate for a cure. I’m looking for something that will give my son the best quality of life ever. If something works – say Brain Balance or this dental device — does it matter if I 100 percent know why?

So that’s my question to you all: Would you take a chance on something if you weren’t 100 percent sure why it worked but it worked? And it was noninvasive?

My husband wouldn’t. We are night and day on this issue. While I admit I want “a cure” as much for me as my son (who really could care less) it seems nuts to my darling mate. I think often about my experience with my chiropractic kinesiologist: Rex had no idea how Dr. Carroll could place some vials on my kid’s chest and tell me what he was allergic to. But by golly, one traumatic and expensive blood test trip to the doctor confirmed the exact same results.

Another thing? I can meet someone in two seconds and figure out their basic personality- if they are sad, or if they are hyper. I have had to back waaaaay off of relationships with people thanks to their vortex of dramatic energy. (This is why I blog. All you readers would destroy me in person with your crazy mama energy wanting to fix your baby. And yes, takes one to know one.) Do I have a degree from Psychic U? No. But I do have the gift of emotional intelligence.

Granted, paying someone 6k is a lot and I wouldn’t do it based on emotional intelligence alone. But a combo of “this feels right” combined with enough testimonials from others and a solid trust in the doctor would definitely sway me.

Why does my kid have TS? What caused it? Why does this dental appliance, or Brain Balance, seem like a reasonable thing to me? Don’t know. But it does. Until science catches up with the root of TS, I’m going to have to dig into my mama roots and treat my son the best way I can. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Read more from me at Happily Ticked Off.

0 Comments

  1. The question isn’t why it works – it’s whether it works. This could be settled by a simple double blind placebo controlled test. The kind they conduct to determine whether those “little pills” are effective. The fact that they haven’t conducted such tests and haven’t submitted their findings to a peer reviewed journal speaks volumes.

    What’s the potential harm? Charlatans making money off of false hope.

  2. Thanks for sharing. The two biggest factors is to create early dental habits and make visits to the dentist fun. It creates adult patients who have no issues with dental care

  3. I think the simplest solutions are often the best. If it causes no harm, why not investigate it and see if it works? My son has always had severe teeth grinding, day & night. Wonder if that’s part of the jaw issue? Hmmm. I’m going to show the video to our long-time dentist and get his thoughts. Thanks for sharing the information!

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