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Alyssa Luck

Alyssa Luck

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Functional Orthodontics & Orthotropics

Quitting Controlled-Arch Braces [AGGA 2.5-year update]

Alyssa Luck · Jan 11, 2022 · 5 Comments

Hi friends! Today I bring you the news that after 1.5 years in controlled-arch braces (CAB), and over 2.5 years since beginning my AGGA journey, I have decided to quit CAB.

It’s not quite as dramatic as it sounds – I do have to finish up treatment somehow, after all – but this decision did come about in concert with a decline in confidence with the CAB process in general, so I want to share my rationale and current thoughts.

If you’d rather watch/listen to my updates, you can check out the two videos at the bottom of the post. (As a reminder, I do try to post updates to YouTube regularly, and I’m usually a bit delayed posting them to the blog, so subscribe on YouTube if you want to see updates right away.) I also linked all my AGGA update posts/videos to date at the bottom of this post.

[Read more…] about Quitting Controlled-Arch Braces [AGGA 2.5-year update]

CBCT Results: An Update on Implants [AGGA/CAB Update]

Alyssa Luck · Sep 3, 2021 · 2 Comments

Hey friends! Latest AGGA/CAB video update is up on YouTube, and as promised, below is a snapshot from my CBCT scan.

First, to summarize the video: this was supposed to be the appointment where my dentist showed me my CBCT results, told me that I had plenty of space and bone for implants (as expected), and referred me to the implant dentist for an initial consultation and to get on the books.

INSTEAD, he told me that despite having 7mm gaps in my mouth, I do not have 7mm gaps between the roots below the surface, which means not enough room for implants.

This was a huge bomb drop, since we’d been aligned from the beginning that the plan was to do implants, and he never once had any doubts that that would be possible for me. Up until he looked at the CBCT.

[Read more…] about CBCT Results: An Update on Implants [AGGA/CAB Update]

AGGA/Controlled Arch Braces Progress Update (13 months in braces, 26 months total)

Alyssa Luck · Aug 9, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Monthly video update below!

I did ask my dentist about the concerns I expressed in my last update, and he was very reassuring. I share more details in the video, but he said that the regression I noticed is likely tooth tipping, and that will be corrected (ie my teeth will be tipped outward again) before I get my braces off. He also said my bite will certainly be corrected using rubber bands before getting my braces off. Was still a bit confused about the spacers, but he seemed confident and not concerned, so I’m just going to trust him!

AGGA/Controlled Arch Braces Progress Update (12 months in braces, 25 months total)

Alyssa Luck · Jul 13, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Hi friends! Posted another video update on YouTube (see below).

Cliff notes: Things are still going smoothly, although I do have a couple concerns that I plan to raise with my dentist at my next appointment.

First, I’m worried that I’ve lost some of my forward growth during the braces phase, but I’m hoping it’s just a matter of tooth tipping (which can be corrected) and not true growth loss.

Second, I need to confirm his plans to fix my occlusion. At my last appointment, they put spacers between my bottom molars to “encourage the teeth to erupt until the bite is closed.” But that seems like a strange thing to do when I still have bite pads on the left. Why would you use spacers to prompt teeth to settle into an uneven bite? Wouldn’t it make sense to remove the bite pads, THEN use spacers??

Not a huge deal either way (they can always put in spacers again), but it definitely triggered my paranoia/trust issues. I’ll keep you guys posted!

Can Chewing on One Side Cause Facial Asymmetry?

Alyssa Luck · Mar 18, 2021 · 4 Comments

Hi! I recorded a video (below) musing on this topic, and thought I’d give you all a text version as well, both because I’m not very concise on video and so you can see the alien face pics a bit better (ha).

I recently tried one of those “face symmetry” apps where it takes a picture of your face and shows you what it would look like if it were perfectly symmetrical, either using the right or the left side. This really highlights any facial asymmetries you might have, and I found my results super interesting (for a few reasons), so wanted to share!

[Read more…] about Can Chewing on One Side Cause Facial Asymmetry?

AGGA/Controlled Arch Braces Progress Update (9 months in braces, 22 months total)

Alyssa Luck · Mar 16, 2021 · 2 Comments

Just a quick progress update after my last ortho appt. Also – I really struggle with how to name these videos…please excuse the absurdly long title.

Tl;dw (too long didn’t watch…that’s a thing right?): everything is good, premolars are almost all the way forward (left one is, right one still has a tiny gap). Next they’re gonna put me in a new wire, tweak aesthetics/occlusion, then do a CBCT scan to prepare for implants, do implants, then after they settle pull the molars forward.

Controlled arch braces progress + timeline update

Alyssa Luck · Feb 5, 2021 · 2 Comments

Just a quick update here at the 7-month mark of my controlled arch braces! Showed progress with the premolars moving forward, and talked about next steps/timeline updates. Spoiler: I’ll probably have braces until the end of this year. Probably implants by early summer, but then several additional months for them to settle and to tweak my occlusion.

Controlled Arch Braces: 5 Month Update

Alyssa Luck · Nov 8, 2020 · 3 Comments

Things I talk about:

  • progress (braces, head/neck posture, tongue exercises, jaw position)
  • why I don’t want to do a “bump out”
  • more thoughts on AGGA/CAB safety

AGGA Before & After – 10mm Expansion

Alyssa Luck · Jul 17, 2020 · 10 Comments

Hey folks! I’m finally getting around to sharing my long-awaited before/after pics from AGGA. These are not final before/afters, because I still have to go through the CAB (braces) phase, but CAB shouldn’t give me any significant additional expansion, so I don’t expect the final photos to be much different aside from no more gaps and (hopefully) better posture.

Things to note:

  • I realize the lighting is inconsistent. When we do FINAL final pics, I’ll ask them to make sure they match it up better. (And will try to match hair/clothes, etc etc)
  • I started AGGA May 22, 2019, and finished (and moved onto CAB) on June 9, 2020, so almost exactly a full year of expansion
  • I was 25 years old when I started, now 26
  • Final measurements were 10mm expansion on both sides
  • My first AGGA broke around November/December 2019, so I was in a retainer for a month while they made me a new one, which means I averaged just under 1mm of expansion per month
  • I admittedly have not been nearly as dedicated to tongue/posture exercises during this process as I should have been, but am redoubling my efforts for the CAB phase and trying to cement better habits. Although you can see my posture has improved somewhat, there’s still lots of improvement to be had!
  • Looking better was never the reason for taking on this absurdly expensive, somewhat unpleasant, and slightly risky process, but it’s a definite side-benefit. It’s an inescapable fact that with human bodies, physical beauty is often very closely tied to proper function.

Now, onto the pictures. Scroll to the bottom for additional commentary from yours truly re: my goals for the treatment and whether I’m happy with the results so far.

  • No room for tongue = double chin
  • Less double chin, more lip support
  • It’s super obvious in this pic how recessed my upper dental arch was. Thanks childhood braces.
  • Better! Honestly could probably use more expansion, but I think that would be pushing my luck.
  • I look like I’m having an existential crisis
  • Kinda looks like my face got MORE asymmetrical, but could also be the lighting. Still in the habit of almost always chewing on the right side, but this should improve after my teeth actually touch on the left so I can chew more evenly.
  • Existential crisis = resolved
  • Even with the giant gaps, my smile definitely looks better now! Nifty.
  • 10mm gaps on either side
  • Had small gaps from prior expansion attempt, which closed naturally over the course of AGGA (nice side benefit!)
  • Gum recession on canines. Dr. Suh isn’t worried – says this happens to everyone and should resolve.
  • Again, gum recession apparent.

Are you happy with your results so far?

Provisionally, yes! It did the thing that I wanted and expected it to do, which was to create more space in the front of my mouth.

In my previous post “Why I Decided to Try AGGA (plus some lingering concerns)”, I listed out all the things I was hoping to address with AGGA. Here’s my assessment of whether these goals have been achieved yet.

  • Clenching/grinding at night: No. Of course there’s no way to know for sure what happens while I’m asleep, but I still find myself involuntarily clenching while I’m awake, so I’m fairly certain I still do at night. My guess is that my masseters are so used to being overactive, and my tongue underactive, that I’ll need to strengthen my tongue quite a bit more before those unconscious habits fully resolve.
  • Poor occlusion (front incisors hit end-to-end): Yes! Absolutely resolved. I got 10mm of forward growth, so my jaw can come as far forward as it wants now.
  • Poor occlusion (only my right molars touch): Not yet. The bite pads have given me some ability to chew on my left side, since we make them much larger on the left than the right to account for my uneven bite, but it’s still not the same as having proper tooth-on-tooth occlusion. This should be resolved in the braces phase that I’m in now.
  • TMJ concerns: Sort of. Because I don’t have a proper stable bite yet, I don’t think I’m necessarily chewing optimally yet, HOWEVER, I certainly no longer have to pull my jaw back in order for my teeth to fit together. I can feel the muscles gradually settling into a more natural bite, and I haven’t noticed jaw soreness recently, but I never had too much to begin with, so I don’t want to frame this as any kind of revolutionary thing. That said, I have full confidence that once the whole process is over, I have proper occlusion, and I’ve successfully re-trained my jaw/cheek/tongue muscles, I won’t have any remaining concerns about TMJ health.
  • Lack of tongue space: Mostly? I have 10mm more forward space than I used to, which is HUGE, but it’s still not the same as if my facial bones had developed properly in the first place. But I’d say I now have enough space to keep decent tongue posture, and am optimistic that good posture habits over a long period of time will further improve structure and increase tongue space.
  • Better profile: Heck yeah. It is now moderately less horrifying to see pictures of myself from the side. Score.

Did your lower jaw come forward as you created space? Or do you have an overbite now?

It did, in fact! More so than I expected. And no – no overbite, although I did have an overbite at a few points during my expansion.

Granted, the main reason I did this treatment to begin with was because my lower jaw wanted to be more forward than it was allowed to be, but what felt like my “natural” bite at the start of treatment was where my incisors touched end-to-end. If that was actually my natural bite, I would’ve only needed a few mm of forward expansion to accommodate that.

What actually happened is exactly what my dentist said would happen: with the new leeway to freely shift around (provided by the bite pads), my jaw gradually moved into a more forward position as my upper teeth moved forward.

Towards the end of the expansion process, there were times where I consciously had to push my jaw forward to avoid having a crazy overbite, but now my jaw seems to have very gratefully accepted all 10mm of extra space we’ve given it, and is settling nicely into its new forward position. Keeping proper neck posture helps with this as well.

Do you still have concerns about gum recession or losing teeth?

Definitely. In fact, after posting a video recently on this topic, Ronald Ead himself reached out to me privately to express concern and warn me about the dangers of AGGA. He personally has loose/unstable front teeth that he attributes to AGGA, and knows several people who have actually lost teeth (and with no chance of implants – aka my worst nightmare).

On the other hand – my dentist isn’t worried, my front teeth don’t feel loose, and no matter how many horror stories surface, there are plenty of success stories too. At the end of the day, it’s a risk I just have to accept, and hope that I’m one of the success stories.

That said, I do plan to ask my dentist at my next appointment how he monitors the health of those front teeth, and in what situations he would abort the mission. Just because a risk can’t be fully mitigated doesn’t mean I should just sweep it under the rug and not monitor it or come up with contingency plans. (Although I have to say…I’d much rather just live in denial and hope that nothing bad happens…)

Video: Is AGGA dangerous? My thoughts on tooth instability and bone loss

Alyssa Luck · Jul 1, 2020 · 18 Comments

Ramblings on the risks of AGGA, from my personal perspective. Also, yes, not only did I not manage to make this video five minutes, as intended, but the second take was actually LONGER than the first. Video: 1 Alyssa: 0

Below are the blog posts I mentioned in the video that touch more on this topic. And to add – since I published this video a week or so ago, Ronny Ead reached out to me privately with further warnings about the dangers of AGGA. He had a negative experience towards the end, and knows several more people who have had even worse experiences (i.e. losing their front teeth with no chance of implants).

So let this just be a reminder to anyone reading this that AGGA/CAB isn’t something that should be undertaken lightly or without just cause, and I would encourage anyone considering this treatment to check out the videos/posts Ronny has published on the topic for a different perspective. It’s always good to keep in mind that the entities who financially benefit from a treatment may not always be totally unbiased and objective when evaluating the risks.

Palate Expansion Update: Concerning CBCT Scan Results

Why I Decided to Try AGGA (plus some lingering concerns)

Everything You Need to Know about AGGA (but not really because I need to update this page…)

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Hi! I’m Alyssa. I like thunderstorms and cats, hate wearing shoes, and enjoy devising extensive research projects for myself in my free time. This is me in Bali with a monkey on my shoulder. And this is my blog, where I muse about health-related topics and document my relentless self-guinea pigging. If you want to know more about me, click here!

alyssa.luck

alyssa.luck
If you've seen "vagus nerve exercises" that have y If you've seen "vagus nerve exercises" that have you moving your eyes or tilting your head, you've probably encountered the work of Stanley Rosenberg. The exercises he created and introduced in his 2017 book now appear in instructional videos all over the internet. 
 
The book itself has much to recommend it: it's accessible, it's practical, it's inspiring. But it has one major flaw: the solid practical and informational content regarding the cranial nerves is framed in terms of the scientifically dubious polyvagal theory. 
 
I particularly enjoyed the book as an introduction to the therapeutic arena of bodywork, of which Rosenberg is a skilled practitioner. His book is full of case reports that demonstrate how immensely powerful extremely subtle movements and physical manipulations can be. These do need to be kept in perspective: it's a small sample size of the most remarkable cases, and the results were achieved within the supportive clinical environment of a skilled practitioner. You can tell from his descriptions how refined his technique is. But nevertheless, it was a paradigm-shifting read for me, and the exercises give you something concrete to play around with. 
 
The book also brought the cranial nerves and the concept of “social engagement” to the fore as arbiters of health. Rosenberg has a solid background in cranial nerve anatomy and shares many interesting tidbits and considerations that you don’t typically hear; for instance, the potential impact of dental and orthodontic work on cranial nerve function.
 
So, is it worth reading? If any of the above piques your interest, go for it! Just read my post on polyvagal theory first – you can use the book to practice separating the wheat (solid informational content) from the chaff (pseudoscientific framing). If nothing else, the book is a nice reminder that genuine healers who get lasting results for their patients do exist.

But if you just want to try the exercises, you can easily find them all on YouTube. 

“You learn techniques to understand principles. When you understand the principles, you will create your own techniques.” -Stanley Rosenberg
I first stumbled upon polyvagal theory during the I first stumbled upon polyvagal theory during the course of my heart rate variability research. I was surprised to encounter it again "in the wild" shortly after, in the book "Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve." Before long, I saw it popping up everywhere, (Baader-Meinhof, anyone?) 
 
Digging deeper, I discovered scientific controversy bubbling just beneath the smooth surface of polyvagal theory's popular presentation. Three months later, I posted a 13k word analysis of the topic. 
 
The technical details are far below the level of practicality for the average person, but the way polyvagal theory has propagated outside of academia has some important ramifications for clinical and scientific progress. 
 
In the wake of a wave of health complaints that our current medical model is poorly equipped to treat, it's clearer than ever that a new paradigm is needed. The grassroots push to emphasize diet and lifestyle factors has been a huge step in the right direction, but it's becoming more and more common to see people who have done everything "right" and are still struggling with persistent health complaints that could range anywhere from mildly annoying to debilitating. 
 
What we need is a genuine integration of mind and body in medicine – not the weak lip service that our current paradigm pays to "stress reduction," like the vague suggestion to relax more and maybe try meditation. And if we're going to develop a sophisticated mind-body medicine, we need a sophisticated mind-body science. And if we want a sophisticated mind-body science, we must subject such topics to the same standards of inquiry as we expect from molecular biomedicine. And that means rejecting pseudoscience like polyvagal theory. 
 
Full analysis and references at alyssaluck.com/polyvagal-theory-a-critical-appraisal
To continue my recounting of the health things I'm To continue my recounting of the health things I'm experimenting with, let me tell you about DNRS: the slightly cheesy, arguably outdated “brain rewiring” program that has changed my life. 

I found it because I was looking for ways to “retrain” my nervous system. I watched some success stories. None of the “target” health conditions matched mine, but I went for it anyway. Probably the best decision I’ve ever made for my health. 

The core of DNRS is built on the principles of neuroplasticity. They call it "brain rewiring" because you intentionally take triggers that would normally stimulate a negative response in your body or mind, and associate them repeatedly with neural signals of safety. If that sounds pseudosciencey, I hear ya – one of my goals with future posts is to bring some concreteness and specificity to the topic. I imagine there are lots of people who could benefit from this type of thing who are turned off by the overly abstract or touchy-feely language. 

There are tons of "brain rewiring" programs like DNRS, but they're all built on similar ideas. Most bring in elements of other popular approaches, ranging from the scientifically validated (cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy) to the type of new-agey stuff I always scoffed at (shadow work, inner child work, parts work). 

For me, DNRS has provided the perfect framework to finally achieve what meditation experts and therapists and mystics alike are always advocating – the ability to step into the role of “curious observer.” It's given me everything therapy and meditation promised but could never deliver, helping me recognize my own patterns of thought and behavior and consciously redirect unhelpful ones. If this sounds vague, that's because there isn't a single area of my life that hasn't been improved by using this framework. 

I spend far more time in states of joy and peace and gratitude, and less time in states of anxiety or depression or frenzy. Many chronic worries that used to occupy my mind or keep me up at night – whether related to health, relationships, or my future – have disappeared, and the others are on their way out. (Cont. in comments)
Isn’t it crazy how something can be so easy and Isn’t it crazy how something can be so easy and natural for one person, but so hard for another? 

Me doing food: I can totally cook everything I eat from scratch, no prob

Me doing mental health: just doing my hour of daily mindful cognitive gratitudinal journalization

Me doing physical therapy: I can’t do it I don’t have that muscle

I’ve done many hard things in the name of health, but I think they’ve all been the types of hard things that come naturally to me. And frankly, that hasn’t gotten me where I want to be. 

So I’ve decided to finally tackle something that feels very unnatural: developing a real relationship with my muscles and bones, and learning - through experience, not from a book - how they coordinate with each other and how to use them. 

I never really considered my musculoskeletal system a key player in autoimmune or digestive woes, but now I realize it’s naïve to think dysfunction in one part of the body doesn’t affect another. And since this is so obviously my weakest link, it’s high time to make it a priority!

Even though I’ve done strength training in the past, I never dedicated the time and focus to figure out what my body actually needed to function better, and workouts often felt awkward or led to injury. 

I’ve always dreaded PT-type exercises because they felt simultaneously like “not enough” and also SO HARD, especially when there’s no way to confirm whether I’m doing them “right” (my nightmare). 

But I’m pretty sure the fact that targeted “mind-muscle” work is so hard for me means it’s what I need the most. (That’s how that works, right?)

Anyway, I’m happy to report that I’m finally through both the initial phase of being a giant baby because I have to do something I’m bad at, AND the second phase of neurotically worrying about doing it “wrong.” And hopefully I’m on my way to better posture, improved breathing, and greater strength! 

Super thankful to have people in my life who remind me to have fun and stay curious, when my natural disposition is to write a 27-step plan to “fixing” everything “wrong” with me. And to remind me that it is, in fact, a JOY to be a novice at something (as @_john_the_savage_ would say).
"If your nervous system is balanced, your heart is "If your nervous system is balanced, your heart is constantly being told to beat slower by your parasympathetic system, and beat faster by your sympathetic system. This causes a fluctuation in your heart rate: HRV." (whoop.com) 
 
This statement is a formidable example of one of the biggest misconceptions about heart rate variability (HRV). 
 
HRV is highest during rest or sleep, when sympathetic input is lowest. If HRV was the result of an autonomic “tug-of-war,” why would it be greatest when one of the contenders has entirely dropped the rope? 
 
Part of the misunderstanding may stem from failure to recognize that the heart has an intrinsic rate, well above the resting heart rate maintained by the vagus nerve. Varying vagal impulses create HRV without any sympathetic input at all. 
 
There are many other common misconceptions, such as the notion that HRV metrics measure autonomic tone, or that HRV itself is a metric with one interpretation. 
 
Such misconceptions aren’t only found in layscience – they also pervade academic and clinical literature. For instance, you’ll see LF used as a measurement of “sympathetic tone” and LF/HF as a measurement of “sympathovagal balance,” even though it’s been clear for decades that those interpretations are not physiologically accurate.
 
This post (and the associated article at alyssaluck.com/hrv101) can be thought of as “foundations for understanding HRV research.” And it provides a good example not only of the insufficiency of “sound-byte” science, but also of real science in action. 
 
The unfortunate reality is that we can’t always take researchers’ conclusions at face value. Few have the time to adequately assess a field before adopting one of their metrics, and once a misinterpretation has taken root it can easily become an accepted fact that propagates through repetition, becoming more entrenched with each published paper.
 
Thankfully the ramifications in this case are not very serious - misdirection of experimental design and analysis, and many false statements, but no dire consequences. Nevertheless, it’s a good reminder that science is a human institution, and it never hurts to question oft-repeated “facts.”
My latest diet experiment: the bean protocol! This My latest diet experiment: the bean protocol! This was one of the changes I made immediately prior to my drastic increase in HRV. 

Brief background: the bean protocol entails eating lots of soluble fiber (particularly beans) as a way to support detox. It rests on the assumption that most chronic health issues are the result of fat-soluble environmental toxins, excess hormones, and other fat-soluble things being recirculated in the body rather than eliminated. 

There is some scientific merit to this: the liver does eliminate many toxins and other compounds through the bile, these things can be subject to reabsorption via enterohepatic recirculation, and certain types of fibers do interrupt this process by binding bile, preventing reabsorption and allowing excretion in the feces.

That said, there are many unanswered questions that would need to be answered for me to be on board with that as the sole or even primary explanation for the anecdotal success of those on the protocol. I think there are almost certainly other mechanisms at play, and I doubt things work exactly as proponents of the protocol describe. 

But at the end of the day, what matters is not mechanisms, but practical outcome. And whatever the reason, it works for many! It seems especially popular and effective for hormonal issues and acne, but the preeminent bean spokesperson @uniquehammond cured her severe Crohn’s with it. 

For me, I experienced better digestion and clearer skin, among other benefits (like not having to wear deodorant). On the less-good side, I lost weight I didn't need to lose, had cold hands and feet, and developed some dry patches on my skin. 

(The dry patches [and perhaps weight loss] were probably because I kept fat too low – mostly because their favored fat source, nuts, is a no-go for me.)

I'm continuing to experiment, hoping to find a balance that lets me reclaim the benefits (which I lost after returning to my normal eating pattern) while avoiding the pitfalls. I’ll share any exciting developments, and will eventually dig into the science behind it too. 

For info about what the protocol entails, you can visit alyssaluck.com/the-bean-protocol-for-ibd!
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Recent Posts

  • Polyvagal Theory: A Critical Appraisal
  • Lymphatic Support for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
  • Heart Rate Variability 101: What It Is, How It’s Measured, and Controversies in the Literature
  • Autonomic Nervous System 101: Anatomy and Physiology
  • Vitamin A Detox Diet for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease

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  • Alyssa Luck on Quitting Controlled-Arch Braces [AGGA 2.5-year update]
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