Arleen
06-10-2003, 09:19 PM
Hi:
I'm going for my second appointment with a TMJ dentist on Thursday, and I'm starting to get nervous again. I hope I'm following the right path, because I don't think I can handle seeing too many more dentists.
There's been a lot of discussion about neuromuscular dentists doing a really good and thorough job of treating TMJD (if you find the right one). I'm wondering if that's who I should be going to or am I doing okay going to a TMJ dentist? The dentist I saw is supposed to take impressions on Thursday. Should I go ahead with this?
I'm uptight too because I had a call from HR today. Although the woman (who is, or was a nurse) tries to appear as if she's interested in how I'm feeling, all she really wants to know is when I'm coming back to work. My doctor completes a form once a month that includes this information, so there is no real need for this phonecall. My doctor guesses at a return date, because we won't know until I've started proper treatment. I always feel like I'm being hassled when she calls. Today I told her that it might be TMJ, that I'm still being diagnosed. She said she's dealt with someone else who had TMJ and they were able to work. I tried to explain that TMJ problems could be in the joints or muscles (or both) and comes in many forms. I felt like she just wrote it off like it was nothing and here I've gone through h-ll for months. I don't understand how people don't care about other people anymore (excluding this board). I know they've got someone in replacing me, so my return date isn't critical like she made it seem.
Thanks for listening. Hope everyone is doing well today.
Arleen
I'm going for my second appointment with a TMJ dentist on Thursday, and I'm starting to get nervous again. I hope I'm following the right path, because I don't think I can handle seeing too many more dentists.
There's been a lot of discussion about neuromuscular dentists doing a really good and thorough job of treating TMJD (if you find the right one). I'm wondering if that's who I should be going to or am I doing okay going to a TMJ dentist? The dentist I saw is supposed to take impressions on Thursday. Should I go ahead with this?
I'm uptight too because I had a call from HR today. Although the woman (who is, or was a nurse) tries to appear as if she's interested in how I'm feeling, all she really wants to know is when I'm coming back to work. My doctor completes a form once a month that includes this information, so there is no real need for this phonecall. My doctor guesses at a return date, because we won't know until I've started proper treatment. I always feel like I'm being hassled when she calls. Today I told her that it might be TMJ, that I'm still being diagnosed. She said she's dealt with someone else who had TMJ and they were able to work. I tried to explain that TMJ problems could be in the joints or muscles (or both) and comes in many forms. I felt like she just wrote it off like it was nothing and here I've gone through h-ll for months. I don't understand how people don't care about other people anymore (excluding this board). I know they've got someone in replacing me, so my return date isn't critical like she made it seem.
Thanks for listening. Hope everyone is doing well today.
Arleen
Sponsor
TiffanyAnn
06-10-2003, 09:40 PM
Hi Arleen:
I'm sorry to hear that this lady is harassing you and it does sound like harassement. If your doctor submits the proper forms on time then she has no reason to be calling you regarding any of it. It seems that anybody who has never suffered with TMJ has any idea how much we suffer and the truth is that this stupid woman doesn't have to understand really but she does have to follow what your doctor says. A couple of thoughts just to make it easier on you..either tell her to please not call you anymore regarding this that when you can return to work you will be sure to call her or turn on your answering machine and screen all your calls and just don't even bother talking to her anymore. Anything to make things easier on you. Hang in there ok.
Tiffany
I'm sorry to hear that this lady is harassing you and it does sound like harassement. If your doctor submits the proper forms on time then she has no reason to be calling you regarding any of it. It seems that anybody who has never suffered with TMJ has any idea how much we suffer and the truth is that this stupid woman doesn't have to understand really but she does have to follow what your doctor says. A couple of thoughts just to make it easier on you..either tell her to please not call you anymore regarding this that when you can return to work you will be sure to call her or turn on your answering machine and screen all your calls and just don't even bother talking to her anymore. Anything to make things easier on you. Hang in there ok.
Tiffany
crystalll
06-10-2003, 09:47 PM
Arleen,
I still think you're on the right track with Dr. Sigesmund.
I've done a lot of research, and there just aren't many dentists in Southern Ontario who can diagnose and treat TMJ disorders.
Take care.
Crystal
I still think you're on the right track with Dr. Sigesmund.
I've done a lot of research, and there just aren't many dentists in Southern Ontario who can diagnose and treat TMJ disorders.
Take care.
Crystal
Arleen
06-10-2003, 10:57 PM
Hi:
Tiffany - Thanks for your comments. It's nice to speak with someone who understands what I'm going through. I don't want it on my record at work that I was uncooperative, so I listen to what the HR person has to say, and answer some of her less invasive questions. I'm sure she's like this with everyone so it isn't a personal thing, but it's still aggravating. I just needed to vent about it today, because she's so incredibly insensitive and nosey.
Crystall - I'm trying to be re-assured that I'm heading in the right direction, and your comments help, but after 13 dentists, it's hard to trust any of them. I'm surprised there aren't more TMJ or neuromuscular dentists in southern Ontario. I'd figure a big city like Toronto must have several. Hopefully Dr. Sigesmund will turn out to be the one who turns things around for me.
Hope you're both doing fine.
Arleen
Tiffany - Thanks for your comments. It's nice to speak with someone who understands what I'm going through. I don't want it on my record at work that I was uncooperative, so I listen to what the HR person has to say, and answer some of her less invasive questions. I'm sure she's like this with everyone so it isn't a personal thing, but it's still aggravating. I just needed to vent about it today, because she's so incredibly insensitive and nosey.
Crystall - I'm trying to be re-assured that I'm heading in the right direction, and your comments help, but after 13 dentists, it's hard to trust any of them. I'm surprised there aren't more TMJ or neuromuscular dentists in southern Ontario. I'd figure a big city like Toronto must have several. Hopefully Dr. Sigesmund will turn out to be the one who turns things around for me.
Hope you're both doing fine.
Arleen
DianeTMJ
06-11-2003, 12:52 AM
Good evening Arleen -
Oh boy, you know, I have only seen the nueromuscular dentist. (well there were 12 others before him, but not TMJ dentists) I do not know how the TMJ Specialists work.
Arleen, listen the voice inside you, what does it say about your TMJ specialist? That will tell you what to do, and if there is a odd feeling in your gut about them, then seek treatment elsewhere.
Boy, I don't if that helped or not, its that intuition
we have been taught to not listen to.
Sleep tight,
Diane
Oh boy, you know, I have only seen the nueromuscular dentist. (well there were 12 others before him, but not TMJ dentists) I do not know how the TMJ Specialists work.
Arleen, listen the voice inside you, what does it say about your TMJ specialist? That will tell you what to do, and if there is a odd feeling in your gut about them, then seek treatment elsewhere.
Boy, I don't if that helped or not, its that intuition
we have been taught to not listen to.
Sleep tight,
Diane
CherylLynn24
06-11-2003, 01:29 AM
Arleen,
Do you trust this specialist? Does he seem different from the rest? Does he have a good treatment plan? Crystal seems to think that you're on the right track, sometimes it helps to go by word-of-mouth, but in turn, what do you feel?
Cheryl
Do you trust this specialist? Does he seem different from the rest? Does he have a good treatment plan? Crystal seems to think that you're on the right track, sometimes it helps to go by word-of-mouth, but in turn, what do you feel?
Cheryl
crystalll
06-11-2003, 04:00 PM
Hi Arleen,
I just wanted to let you know that I've been "discharged" by Dr. Rondeau after a year of unsuccessful splint therapy. I plan on contacting Dr. Sigesmund this week, and hopefully I can get in to see him in July.
He may not be able to help, but I've gotta keep trying. :)
If you continue to see him, I would really appreciate it if you could keep me posted. I'm especially curious as to the cost of treatment...
Thanks!
Crystal
I just wanted to let you know that I've been "discharged" by Dr. Rondeau after a year of unsuccessful splint therapy. I plan on contacting Dr. Sigesmund this week, and hopefully I can get in to see him in July.
He may not be able to help, but I've gotta keep trying. :)
If you continue to see him, I would really appreciate it if you could keep me posted. I'm especially curious as to the cost of treatment...
Thanks!
Crystal
DianeTMJ
06-11-2003, 04:55 PM
Hi Arleen -
I am not at home today, using a friends computer real quick, if you will check on las vegas institute for advanced dental studies, you can find a nueromuscular dentist in your area. I know that there are about 3 up in your neck of the woods.
How is life today, just remember to always listen to that small voice inside of you. :-)
Later
Diane
I am not at home today, using a friends computer real quick, if you will check on las vegas institute for advanced dental studies, you can find a nueromuscular dentist in your area. I know that there are about 3 up in your neck of the woods.
How is life today, just remember to always listen to that small voice inside of you. :-)
Later
Diane
DianeTMJ
06-11-2003, 04:58 PM
Hi Arleen -
I am not at home today, using a friends computer real quick, if you will check on las vegas institute for advanced dental studies, you can find a nueromuscular dentist in your area. I know that there are about 3 up in your neck of the woods.
How is life today, just remember to always listen to that small voice inside of you. :-)
Later
Diane
I am not at home today, using a friends computer real quick, if you will check on las vegas institute for advanced dental studies, you can find a nueromuscular dentist in your area. I know that there are about 3 up in your neck of the woods.
How is life today, just remember to always listen to that small voice inside of you. :-)
Later
Diane
Arleen
06-11-2003, 05:37 PM
Hi:
As always, thanks for your kind and intelligent comments.
Part of the reason I posted this topic is because I have a hard time listening to that voice inside me that tells me whether this is a good dentist or not. It's not that I don't listen to the voice, but I think sometimes the voice is on vacation (where I'd like to be :)
As most of you know, I've seen 13 dentists already, with Dr. Sigesmund being #14. Out of all these dentists, there have been a couple that stood out as "nope, not getting my business is future" because either their attitude or what they suggested wasn't good. The rest initially seemed like decent people concerned about helping me resolve my problem. It's not until I'd seen them a few times (in some cases a lot more times) that I got a sense that either what they were suggesting was wrong, or that they didn't know what they were doing. One dentist I particularly liked was very kind to me, and he re-did the fillings and would make tiny adjustments so as not to throw me off. I think he did things to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, he obviously doesn't know much about TMJ. Likewise, there were several others who seemed nice. It's hard to know off the bat who knows their stuff and who doesn't.
Anyway, my 2nd appt. with Dr. Sigesmund is tomorrow. In a few minutes I'm gonna out in the backyard and write up a list of questions. It ain't New Mexico weather out there, unfortunately, but it's 76 and sunny, so can't complain. I may post my questions here later, to see if you guys have any suggestions for questions I've missed.
Hi Cheryl - I'll hear about his treatment plan tomorrow, and will let you (and everybody) know what he said. I haven't gotten any bad vibes about him. He seems like quite the character, but not in a bad way. He has a sense of humour (always good, but it won't fix my bite). I knew he must be around retirement age or older, and last night I was doing a lot of searches on the web and came across a sight that listed him as graduating from the dental school here in 1954!! Looks like he's been at it for quite a while ;)
Hi Diane - Thanks for the hint about the LVI, and for even taking the time to write while you're at a friend's. It's funny, we must be on the same wavelength. When I was doing a bunch of web searches last night, that was one of them. There are about 5 names that showed up for Ontario, 2 of them being within an hour of Toronto. The one in Hamilton looks like he does more cosmetic stuff, based on his website (wouldn't you like to have a nice smile, etc.). The one in Oakville doesn't have a website, at least I couldn't find one. He looks okay in that he's taken quite a number of courses at the institute, at least 3 on occlusion.
I also did searches on Dr. Sigesmund. Don't know if all this information is accurate and up-to-date, but here's what I found. He's a member of the Ontario Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, International College of Cranio-Mandibular Othopedics, American Academy of Pain Management. Other associations (and I don't know what they are): Diplomate of AAPM,ADI, AES, NECS. This wasn't on his personal website (I don't think he has one), so this information may or may not be correct.
Hi Crystal - I'm sorry to hear you've been "discharged." That sounds like you were fired or something. I'll let you and the board know how my appointment goes. I hope Dr. Sigesmund can help both of us. First appointment was $175. He sent me for xrays (5 on each side, 3 of which per side were tomograms). This was done at a separate clinic (that had 2 locations, one right near the doctor's office and one in the north end of the city. I went to the north one, as the one by his office doesn't do xrays every day. Cost of those $155. His receptionist will be going over the $$$ end of things with me tomorrow after my appt with him. So, if I haven't fainted, I'll let you know.
Hope everyone is having a pleasant and painfree day.
And now it's off to the backyard to commune with the flowers.
Arleen
As always, thanks for your kind and intelligent comments.
Part of the reason I posted this topic is because I have a hard time listening to that voice inside me that tells me whether this is a good dentist or not. It's not that I don't listen to the voice, but I think sometimes the voice is on vacation (where I'd like to be :)
As most of you know, I've seen 13 dentists already, with Dr. Sigesmund being #14. Out of all these dentists, there have been a couple that stood out as "nope, not getting my business is future" because either their attitude or what they suggested wasn't good. The rest initially seemed like decent people concerned about helping me resolve my problem. It's not until I'd seen them a few times (in some cases a lot more times) that I got a sense that either what they were suggesting was wrong, or that they didn't know what they were doing. One dentist I particularly liked was very kind to me, and he re-did the fillings and would make tiny adjustments so as not to throw me off. I think he did things to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, he obviously doesn't know much about TMJ. Likewise, there were several others who seemed nice. It's hard to know off the bat who knows their stuff and who doesn't.
Anyway, my 2nd appt. with Dr. Sigesmund is tomorrow. In a few minutes I'm gonna out in the backyard and write up a list of questions. It ain't New Mexico weather out there, unfortunately, but it's 76 and sunny, so can't complain. I may post my questions here later, to see if you guys have any suggestions for questions I've missed.
Hi Cheryl - I'll hear about his treatment plan tomorrow, and will let you (and everybody) know what he said. I haven't gotten any bad vibes about him. He seems like quite the character, but not in a bad way. He has a sense of humour (always good, but it won't fix my bite). I knew he must be around retirement age or older, and last night I was doing a lot of searches on the web and came across a sight that listed him as graduating from the dental school here in 1954!! Looks like he's been at it for quite a while ;)
Hi Diane - Thanks for the hint about the LVI, and for even taking the time to write while you're at a friend's. It's funny, we must be on the same wavelength. When I was doing a bunch of web searches last night, that was one of them. There are about 5 names that showed up for Ontario, 2 of them being within an hour of Toronto. The one in Hamilton looks like he does more cosmetic stuff, based on his website (wouldn't you like to have a nice smile, etc.). The one in Oakville doesn't have a website, at least I couldn't find one. He looks okay in that he's taken quite a number of courses at the institute, at least 3 on occlusion.
I also did searches on Dr. Sigesmund. Don't know if all this information is accurate and up-to-date, but here's what I found. He's a member of the Ontario Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, International College of Cranio-Mandibular Othopedics, American Academy of Pain Management. Other associations (and I don't know what they are): Diplomate of AAPM,ADI, AES, NECS. This wasn't on his personal website (I don't think he has one), so this information may or may not be correct.
Hi Crystal - I'm sorry to hear you've been "discharged." That sounds like you were fired or something. I'll let you and the board know how my appointment goes. I hope Dr. Sigesmund can help both of us. First appointment was $175. He sent me for xrays (5 on each side, 3 of which per side were tomograms). This was done at a separate clinic (that had 2 locations, one right near the doctor's office and one in the north end of the city. I went to the north one, as the one by his office doesn't do xrays every day. Cost of those $155. His receptionist will be going over the $$$ end of things with me tomorrow after my appt with him. So, if I haven't fainted, I'll let you know.
Hope everyone is having a pleasant and painfree day.
And now it's off to the backyard to commune with the flowers.
Arleen
J-man
06-12-2003, 03:30 AM
Hi Guys,
Since we've been discussing neuromuscular dentistry, I just wanted to pass on to you that the dentist I've been seeing for the past 6 months or so is a neuromuscular dentist. Now while I don't have any miracle stories to tell about, I have definitely experienced some progress with this treatment ! I really believe that the thinner splints often used in neuromuscular treatment programs are easier to tolerate. If your bite is 'off' with this type of splint, it seems like this isn't as bothersome to you, as when a splint which is occupying the better part of your mouth, is off. This has been my personal experience anyways.
I also believe that my tens machine has been playing a large part in the improvement I've been experiencing. I think that a good tens machine can speed up your rate of improvement, because its another method of 'making the muscles happier', and functioning better.
Take care and God bless,
John
Since we've been discussing neuromuscular dentistry, I just wanted to pass on to you that the dentist I've been seeing for the past 6 months or so is a neuromuscular dentist. Now while I don't have any miracle stories to tell about, I have definitely experienced some progress with this treatment ! I really believe that the thinner splints often used in neuromuscular treatment programs are easier to tolerate. If your bite is 'off' with this type of splint, it seems like this isn't as bothersome to you, as when a splint which is occupying the better part of your mouth, is off. This has been my personal experience anyways.
I also believe that my tens machine has been playing a large part in the improvement I've been experiencing. I think that a good tens machine can speed up your rate of improvement, because its another method of 'making the muscles happier', and functioning better.
Take care and God bless,
John
CherylLynn24
06-12-2003, 03:38 AM
John,
I'm glad that you've posted your progress, thus far. My teenage son has just started seeing a Neuromuscular dentist right now, and we have a ten's unit on the way. (nothing at all has helped him) He's gone through 4 splints, as well as drugs, PT, and so forth. It is very encouraging to me to know that this is something that is helping you. Please continue to post on your progress. Have a good day.
Cheryl
I'm glad that you've posted your progress, thus far. My teenage son has just started seeing a Neuromuscular dentist right now, and we have a ten's unit on the way. (nothing at all has helped him) He's gone through 4 splints, as well as drugs, PT, and so forth. It is very encouraging to me to know that this is something that is helping you. Please continue to post on your progress. Have a good day.
Cheryl