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Craniomandibular problems result in a tendency for neck problems, such as a cervical subluxation or fixation: for holistic treatment, both elements of a patient with craniomandibular dysfunction (the dental and the musculoskeletal) must be addressed for improved outcomes. Bergamini et al showed the specifics of the integration of the stomatognathic system with the craniomandibular muscular system.^44-45

An AK Clinical Algorithm for Management of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

Starting with a comprehensive medical history, inspection, palpation, and an orthopedic examination, Applied Kinesiology enables the clinician to find out if patient`s symptoms are caused by a weight bearing (ascending) problem, or a bite (descending) problem or a mixture of the two. Moreover, it is very easy to check if the TMJ itself has a problem and if the mandible is in a three-dimensionally correct position. If not, you have to fix the mandible in the correct position with a dental splint. This correct position can be found and then confirmed to be effective by Applied Kinesiology.⁴⁶

Applied Kinesiology and Peridontal Disease        

More and more studies prove that periodontal disease is not only a problem of bacteria but also an immune problem. And it is well known that vitamins, minerals, and trace elements have positive effects on the immune system. With Applied Kinesiology you don`t have to give them all—as is so frequently done with trial and error. You are able to test which substances the body needs to rebuild bone and periodontal tissue.

Willie May, DDS

Dr. Goodheart brought Dr. May’s work (for “increasing the vertical” with a dental appliance, that coincidentally helped many patients with systemic health disorders) to wider attention.

 Dr. George A. Eversaul published “Dental Kinesiology” in 1977 and listed seven reasons that dentists should employ AK procedures in their dental practices.

1. Increasing accessibility to the oral cavity. AK procedures allow the doctor to increase the degree of mouth opening.
2. Decreasing muscle spasm and pain following treatment.
3. Reducing jaw clicking and/or bruxism.
4. As a prepping procedure for prosthodontic appliances.
5. Increasing patient endurance.
6. Increasing patient motivation.
7. Identification of bad tooth endodontically.

Harold Gelb, DDS, MS

In 1985 Dr. Harold Gelb founded the Craniomandibular Pain Center at Tufts University College of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He was clinical professor at the Department of Restorative Dentistry at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, from 1971 to 1991. He was the director of the Temporomandibular Joint Clinic at the Department of Otolaryngology, in the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary from 1958 to 1979.

Dr. Gelb invited Dr. Goodheart to write about Applied Kinesiology’s usefulness for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in 1977. This was one of the first inter-professional offers for a chiropractor to write for a medical and dental journal.

Dr. Gelb and his team at Tufts University have been using manual muscle testing and the methods developed by Goodheart and the International College of Applied Kinesiology in the evaluation of patients with TMD ever since, and have published a substantial  body of research on the relationship between muscle imbalances and TMD.⁴⁷ In a seminal paper they showed that correction of the TMJ can enhance muscular strength and athletic performance.⁴⁸

Gelb saw the advantages for using Goodheart’s advances in MMT to assist the orthodontist in the difficult task of diagnosis in the oral cavity. Here a millimeter of dysfunction or malocclusion is a great expanse and causes functional challenges of movement and fit, particularly once the motility of the cranio-sacral system is taken into account.

These issues often confound the difficult task relating to craniomandibular function. Gelb eagerly embraced the wide-ranging diagnostic abilities of AK.

In 1994 Gelb invited Dr. Walther to contribute a chapter to his book New Concepts in Craniomandibular and Chronic Pain Management, and it was titled “Applied Kinesiology and the Stomatognathic System.”

Drs. Aelred Fonder and Robert Ricketts, DDS, contributed to Walther’s Volume II on the stomatognathic system. Dr. Fonder demonstrated the influence of the stomatognathic system on body balance and the spine by changing the occlusion and mandibular position. He contributed dozens of full spine x-ray images to Walther’s textbook showing how spinal x-rays taken before and after the equilibration and mandibular repositioning show specific postural improvements.⁴⁹ Clinical changes are often seen throughout the body after making changes in the masticatory system. This shows how the structures within the stomatognathic system are integrated with each other, and how the system is related to total body activity.

Echoing the discoveries made in AK regarding the importance of the stomatognathic system, Hans Selye, MD, stated in his introduction to Fonder’s book, “I fully support his plea to dentists to realize that they are treating persons who are united wholes, not simply a complex of dental and periodontal tissues.”

According to the orthodontist Gerard Smith, DDS: “Entering the field of physiologic dentistry, the dentist must become knowledgeable of the reciprocal inter-relationships between the jaw and the Cranio-Sacral mechanism. The dentist must also learn the effects functional appliances have on the Cranium and Cervical Vertebrae. Discerning these major faults guide the order of treatment and the type of appliances to be used.”⁵⁰

 Finally, Dr. Gelb offers these glowing words on the promise of AK for the dental profession: “We believe that medical and dental specialists will use Applied Kinesiological testing to make more accurate diagnosis and provide better treatment. But that is a futuristic thought.”⁵¹

Applied Kinesiology in Traditional Chinese Medicine

The relationship between internal glands and organs of the body to the external muscle groups and acupuncture meridians opened whole new vistas for AK therapeutics and has been one of the most popular aspects of AK in the wider world.

While the study of energy movement in the body has gone on for thousands of years in the Orient, recent discoveries in the West have added to these tools of diagnosis and treatment. Muscle testing has a special feature to bring to the acupuncture field. Out of all the recent refinements (electro-acupuncture, laser acupuncture, computer diagnosis, etc.), MMT is unique in that it requires no electricity or instruments. This offers simplicity in the office, and ease when away from it. Muscle testing for this reason has become a normal part of many acupuncturists practice.^52-60 It is because muscle testing interacts with the acupuncture meridian system that the usefulness of the Applied Kinesiology approach for acupuncture diagnosis is presented.