Question
my son went for an orthodontic evaluation which included a head/neck xray. the orthodontist referred us to a chiropractor explaining that his neck and head alignment appeared to be incorrect, perhaps due to trampoline use or heading the ball in soccer.  my son has no reported headaches, neck pain, nor other balance or pain complaints.  he is a very active young man who is a good student and overall seemingly healthy.  should i take him in for a chiropractic eval?  is it likely he could have some symptomless serious problem with his neck?  thanks.

Answer
Dear Gloria,

If your son has no aches/pains of any sort, then there is no need to rush to the chiropractor.  The orthodontist should be better informed that there is no true entity as misalignment that the chiropractor is going to straighten out.   If there is pain, that's one thing. If there is joint malfunction and tissue irritation, that, too, can be an issue - but in this latter case the doctor would be able to press on sore/tender muscles and joints. This would be a consideration for chiropractic evaluation even if there was no neck or headache sympsoms.  Your son saying "Ouch" when his joints are pressed on has validity.   But there is no reason to go to the chiropractor just because the DDS thinks something is out of alignment, because there is no such entity and the DDS's perception of misalignment has no validity.     I hope this made sense.  

'Regards,

Dr. G