As I described the Starecta method on the pages of this blog, I naturally could not help wondering what specialists in TMJ treatment thought about the technique and effectiveness of this method. In this short article, I have gathered the full range of opinions from world-class doctors commenting on posts about the Starecta method in the TMD/ TMJ Discussion Group on Facebook and in other published discussions, and I have also reviewed all the available information in publications about Starecta in English-language orthodontic journals.

The TMD/ TMJ Discussion Group on Facebook is perhaps the most popular place for doctors from all over the world to exchange opinions and advise patients with TMJ disorders, including such distinguished, widely recognised experts in this field as John Mew, Mike Mew, Darick Nordstrom, Jeffrey Brown, Clayton A. Chan and others. The author also followed comments by Mike Mew and Jeffrey Brown on accounts from people using Starecta.

The thing is that Mike Mew was the first specialist whom the founders of the Starecta method, Moreno Conte and Valerio Quatrano, approached for a professional assessment of their method. The video of their presentation of the Starecta method to Mike Mew can be found on YouTube. It shows how Mike initially listened with interest to the young men's account and looked at their presentation images, and how, towards the end, he became very animated and even called someone over to look at the unusual results of the technique.

Later, Mike Mew published an article about this on LinkedIn: ‘Scientific data confirming the relationship between teeth, occlusion and body posture’ (8 April 2015). In it, Dr Mew discusses a man who underwent the Starecta method, former professional Civitanova Soccer Club footballer Simone Sincini, who ‘had a problem of undiagnosed cranio-mandibular imbalance, like 98% of people’ (Simone suffered from gastrointestinal problems, and his full story is here). Mike Mew also mentions in the article that, before using the Starecta method, this patient had tried every possible treatment without success.

Dr Mew then examines Simone's problem and how the Starecta team identified it: Simone had a lateral deviation of his skull to the left, which created considerable asymmetry of the musculoskeletal system in the frontal plane, and an enormous lack of tooth height in the lateral plane on both dental arches in the molar and premolar regions, which caused hyperkyphosis and hyperlordosis of the spine, and his eyes were looking upwards. The doctor explains that ‘Simone was probably born with this asymmetry, like many of us, and this asymmetry worsened over time, ultimately making his life impossible. In fact, the lateral deviation of the skull to the left first caused facial and then bodily asymmetry.’ Simone's problem was resolved only thanks to the Starecta method.

However, Mike Mew's father, John Mew, expressed the opinion in the TMD/ TMJ Discussion Group that ‘splints and devices that increase facial height create long-term TMJ problems, cause crowding of the teeth and make the face unattractive..., and that it is better to look at clinical studies before drawing any conclusions.’

To be fair, Dr Mew expressed his quite well-founded opinion without looking into the details of the technique, merely commenting on a post discussing how the Starecta splint increases bite height, since throughout his life he has fought against braces that elongate the face, thereby block the lower jaw and create TMJ problems. However, the Starecta method does not increase facial height, but raises bite height only in the back of the jaw, in the molar region, which is what has a stabilising effect on the temporomandibular joints and cervical vertebrae (details of the technique are here). As for facial attractiveness before and after using Starecta, you can judge it, for example, from photographs of the method's founder, Moreno Conte.

At the same time, Dr Geir Olsen from Norway, an outstanding specialist in TMJ treatment with the ALF appliance who has studied the Starecta technique, often publishes information about Starecta on his website, believing that ‘the Italian guys have found a way to cure TMJ disorders without any doctors.’

Another specialist who has commented on accounts from people using Starecta is the outstanding American doctor Jeffrey Brown, who works with the now legendary TMJ specialist Brendan Stack. Jeffrey Brown actively communicates with some of the first pioneers of the Starecta method, the American Ken Leaver and the Spaniard Marcelo Massa. The latter instantly developed all the symptoms of dystonia after a dentist ground down his tooth contacts on one side. It was the Starecta method that helped him out of the crisis. Below is a scan of Marcelo's conversation with Dr Brown about this method.

In the conversation, Marcelo gives the following arguments for the method's importance: Starecta works; the method is based on a much better understanding of the stomatognathic and postural systems than 99% of dentists possess. In Marcelo's view, the Starecta treatment protocol offers a solution for patients who have been mutilated by ‘arrogant and ignorant dentists’ (having suffered from such actions himself, he really knows what he is talking about). This Spaniard also adds that the method's effects ‘leave no doubt about how occlusion affects the skull and spine, something that most dentists do not even suspect or deny,’ and that ‘most critics of Starecta do not even understand what they are talking about.’ Marcelo continued his experiments with the ALF appliance, regarding the Starecta Rectifier device as foundational in the treatment of dystonia. Jeffrey Brown became a co-author of Marcelo's book ‘Bio-mechanical treatment of dystonia’.

As for the Starecta method and the Rectifier device, Dr Brown believes that ‘this is a magnificent initial device if you do not have access to a specialist who really knows what he is doing. As Ken and Massa have mentioned more than once, there are only a handful of such doctors... Using the device provides excellent initial support for the joints.’ Later in the conversation, Ken Leaver, who had seen about thirty TMJ specialists with varying levels of expertise before using the Starecta method, confirms that even among top dentists there is no real understanding of the problem.

The well-known American doctor Clayton A. Chan also takes a favourable view of the technique in these discussions: ‘If Starecta helps, use it! It is a good thing for everyone.’ One patient undergoing Starecta treatment who is active in the discussion says the following about this method: ‘There is no need to fear Starecta. In fact, I suffered some pretty severe damage from the splints of “professionals”. At the same time, when using Starecta I noticed nothing but positive effects. This is much safer than what many “experts” can do to you.’

Perhaps this is where the review of opinions should end, adding only that the Starecta method, which has already earned a good reputation among dentists, researchers and chiropractors around the world, was presented at the 29th Annual American Dental Congress in March 2018. Following the Congress, an article was published in the International Journal Of Oral Health&Dental Management, the full text of which is available here.

Rectifier: what it is and how it works — here.

Starecta: the most frequently asked questions — here.
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The article's cover photograph shows Valerio Quatrano at the American Dental Congress.