An innovative Australian dental technology for bruxism, temporomandibular disorders, headaches, snoring and sleep apnoea was recently presented at the World Dental Forum in Macau.

The dual clinical research presentations by Dr Jack Gerschman and Dr Michael Stubbs at the World Dental Forum held in Macau during October 2010 was the culmination of years of ingenious ground breaking research and clinical studies which may prove to be one of the most significant contributions to both medicine and dentistry this century.

Southern Cross Dental Laboratories was involved in sponsoring and hosting the conference and was attended by international delegates.

The conference concluded with a tour of the vast state-of-the-art Southern Cross Laboratories in Shen Zhen, China.

The research and development team of Jack Gerschman, Michael Stubbs, David Penn and Martin Szwarc (pictued) has  been supported by an Australian Federal Government grant. They combined dental, medical and engineering concepts to provide novel solutions to conditions causing chronic, debilitating, life destroying and at times fatal outcomes in patients who had sought relief for their suffering from countless medical, dental, complementary and alternative health practitioners worldwide.

The Macau audience were introduced to the unique Airospace magnetic, multidirectional ‘Hover’ splint which is able to totally eliminate both diurnal and nocturnal parafunctional bruxism. Bruxism is acknowledged to be implicated in the aetiology and maintenance of both acute and of chronic non resolving temporomandibular disorders and associated acute and chronic daily headaches of the tension/muscular contraction and mixed vascular, migrainous types.

The Airospace invention, which is heavily patented worldwide, was praised by Dr Child (Director of the well known American CRA Newsletter, (Christensens Clinicians Report), who also presented at the World Dental Forum.

He commented on the ingenuity and novelty of this concept that as well as contributing to the well being of millions worldwide, this new technology will stimulate the acceptance of a new paradigm and pioneer a completely new direction in the research of causes and treatment of bruxism, temporomandibular disorders and headaches. He also said it would invalidate and negate much of the previously published research in this area.

On behalf of his group, Airospace was invited to submit their inventions to the scrutiny and scientific and clinical testing by reporting to the CRA for the profession at the earliest opportunity.

The American magazine Dental Economics interviewed and filmed the Airospace team regarding their presentation and placed it as a blog in their magazine and on Utube.

Doctors Jack Gerschman and Michael Stubbs, along with Martin Szwarc had previously presented their research on behalf of their team in the management of snoring and sleep apnoea at the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine in Seattle in June 2009. There they utilized another application of their new paradigm and invention with their self adjusting, biodynamic, magnetic multidirectional mandibular advancement splint.

This group of disturbed sleep disordered breathing conditions is now recognised as causing immeasurable disturbances of quality of life, major medical disorders such as stroke and heart attack and unfortunately both morbidity and mortality.

The dental profession has become a major treatment provider for patients with snoring and sleep apnoea, albeit only the mild and moderate but not the more severely affected patients could be effectively managed with Mandibular Advancement Splints (MAS).

Furthermore, disturbing short and long term side-effects were emerging, causing compliance issues, severe TMD’s and irreversible bite changes.

Complex medico-legal issues have arisen out of these occlusal changes, tooth movement and Temporomandibular Disorders.

These issues could potentially prevent patients from utilising the only scientifically proven alternative to CPAP for these conditions.

Airospace presented the results of a pilot study comparing a novel next generation multidirectional magnetically driven self titrating MAS with currently available MAS.

The main findings of the study were that occlusal and tooth changes as well as TMD could be eliminated and that the more severe patients could not be effectively managed with dental MAS.

The novel splints are due to be launched worldwide from April/May 2011 by Airospace Enterprises.

Training courses for these innovative products will be run throughout Australian and worldwide.

Airospace Enterprises is an Australian company dedicated to the research and development of medical and dental technology. Other innovative products are under way and will be released in due course.