Bruce Johnson Dentistry
Bruce Johnson, DDS:
Practice Profile Page

We welcome the opportunity to share with you a new and exciting health paradigm. This is not based upon drug therapy or learning to live with pain. It has taken years to develop mostlybecause it takes considerable cooperation among several specialties. It is focused on repairing systems that are not functioning correctly so that the problems (symptoms) will have long-term resolution. The development of the mouth (including the teeth, jaw bones, jaw joints, muscles, tongue and gums) is influenced significantly by environmental influences as we grow. For example, if we suck our thumb, breathe through our mouth, or chew our fingernails, we distort normal growth of the mouth. This results in distortions in the dental system (crooked teeth, overbites, crooked jaws, etc.) These distortions in turn affect other systems. A crooked bite will produce a head to neck posture that appears “crooked”. As the neck muscles struggle to compensate, neck pain develops. The muscles of the shoulders and back are recruited to assist the neck muscles, and they in turn struggle. So now we recognize that bad bites and back pain are connected. As we have explored these relationships, many others have been discovered. The result has been that dentists like Dr. Johnson approach treatment from a “whole-person” perspective, understanding the intimate relationship the dental system shares with the other systems of the body. Treatment becomes focused on procedures that result in the dental system becoming supportive to the other systems. When your dental system is in balance and functioning properly, you breathe better. You sleep better. Your posture improves. It is a powerful health paradigm. One aspect that is not different in this paradigm is that early recognition and resolution of issues produces betterresults. That leads to the question of “when should my child be examined for proper growth and development”, and “what can I do as a parent to help my child grow as his/her genetics intended”? Hopefully, you will find answers to these questions in the “Growth and Development” section of this website. A practitioner whose treatment is based in this total health perspective asks about and looks for signs and symptoms that traditional or conventional dentistry does not. Many have inquired why we ask for some of the information we do on the forms you fill out. Hopefully, the above information assists you in understanding how vital this information is. Lastly, we hope you will realize that as the dental system so dramatically impacts the airway,, which is our source for oxygen that every cell in our body needs, treating the dental system to positively impact the airway is fundamental to our practice of helping to enhance total body health. Bruce Johnson is a native of Eagle Rock and attended California State Universities at Fresno and Los Angeles before completing his Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center in 1976. He immediately began practice in Eagle Rock offering family dentistry and quickly widened his scope of care to a more comprehensive approach including orthodontic and TMJ/CMD treatment. Over the course of his career he has been a member of the California Dental Association, the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain (AACP), the American Italian Dental Association (AIDA), the Glendale Academy of Dentists, San Fernando Valley Dental Society, Orthopedic Gnathology Study Group, San Gabriel Valley Implant Study Group, and a charter member of the American Association for Functional Orthodontics (AAFO*). In addition to activities of the above organizations, Dr. Johnson has advanced his education and enhanced his practice through numerous educational courses, seminars, and study groups. He is founder and facilitator of the Southern California Dental-Cranial Study Group and is a member of of the Glendale Academy, the Implant Study Group, and the American Italian Dental Association. He participates in conferences and seminars for the organizations above as well as for those such as the International Association for Facial Growth Guidance, the Holistic Dental Association, Mid America Orthodontic Society, and BioResearch. He has provided presentations for the Southern California Health Sciences University, San Gabriel Valley Dental Implant Study Group, USC Orthodontic Alumni Study Club, California Dental Association, and Sacro Occipital Techniques Organization on lecture topics such as TMJ for Chiropractors, Occlusal Splint Therapy, Muscle and Joint Parameters in TMJ Patients, Altering Occlusion for Periodontal Health,, and the Dental-Chiropractic Co-Treatment Paradigm.