The Neuro-Occlusal Rehabilitation (RNO), although it is especially trendy nowadays, especially thanks to social networks, is a technique developed by Dr. Pedro Planas in 1962. Dr. Planas tried to give a functionalist answer to all the malocclusions that can be found in orthodontic patients. To do this, he tried to have a complete vision of why and how all the discrepancies that were later solved with appliances at that time developed.
With this interest in mind, he makes an exhaustive research in which he studies hundreds of cases regarding their occlusion, something that we can find in his book Neuro-Occlusal Rehabilitation (NOR) first published in 1987.
Paediatric dentistry, orthodontics, conservative dentistry, periodontics and prosthodontics are all specialities with a common denominator for Dr. Planas and Neuro-Occlusal Rehabilitation: occlusal balance.
According to this theory, almost all jaw development problems start at a very early age as a product of unsatisfactorily established primary functions (sucking, breathing or swallowing, for example) which, when unresolved and prolonged over time, give rise in turn to a series of more harmful bad habits such as unilateral chewing, unilateral oral respiration or the position of the tongue more forward, which, as we have said, completely unbalance the proper stimulus for the growth of the jaws and lead to the malocclusions that we see every day.
All these bad habits are also influenced by modern lifestyles, with an overly soft and processed diet that does not allow the jaws to develop properly, respiratory problems due to allergies and environmental issues that do not facilitate 'normal' physiological breathing, or increasingly complicated breastfeeding due to the mother's personal decision or work-life balance.
What we seek with RNO therapy is that these basic functions are well established from an early age, in order to avoid future malocclusions as much as possible. How? For example, by educating patients so that they swallow correctly or maintain proper nasal breathing or indicating to parents the importance of introducing a diet that is as hard, dry and fibrous as possible. As you can imagine, this type of correction should be carried out as soon as possible. If we treat at an early age, we will avoid having to do so at more complicated ages, such as those between 12 and 18 years of age.
Minimally invasive and very simple interventions, such as direct leads, selective carvings or appliances to give the correct shape and function, are also produced.
In short, the benefits of Neuro-Occlusal Rehabilitation are not limited to the face and teeth. They are mainly aimed at creating a correct respiratory, masticatory, phonatory and swallowing function. Promoting good development of the jaw and maxilla, providing the tongue with more space (which favours correct swallowing) and increasing the passage of air through the nose and throat, among others. Something that must be done in a multidisciplinary way and for which it is advisable to work with other professionals who can help us to facilitate this change, for example, a speech therapist.
Moreover, its use is not limited exclusively to children, but in adult patients it can correct articular problems (temporomandibular joint dysfunction), periodontal problems or even prosthetic problems through selective grinding, eliminating interferences or premature occlusion that are consequences of a lack of balance in the mouth.
Nasal breathing, in patients of any age, helps to prevent ear, nose and throat diseases, avoids sleep problems (apnoea, etc), favours the secretion of growth hormone...
We could conclude, therefore, that the main objective of the RNO is to recover the balance in our mouth. So that everything is in perfect balance when we close it or bite it, thus avoiding many of the future problems that could arise, but that this path has taken us (and will take us) further.
