KMX

Dear twiztid,
I am in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and my son and I have TMJ due to incompetent orthodontics. We are planning to sue the orthodontist who caused our suffering, as well as severely damaged our teeth and jaws. You can sue but you must be in the time limitation to sue and you must be able to prove what was done to you. In our case we are able to do this and plan to pursue a suit. My son is 14 years old so I must pursue a suit on his behalf because he is under age. In your case you may be able to extent the time period to sue because minors have until they are adults to sue, check with a lawyer. In our province it has been very difficult to find a lawyer to pursue a lawsuit of this type since there appears to be pressure on lawyers to avoid taking this type of case. I believe in Ontario it will be much easier to find a lawyer to represent you, in fact go on line and you find many who do dental malpractice cases on behalf of plaintiffs. My son and I would also gladly offer our support in your case since there is not much on record in Canada to support cases such as ours. We were able to find a case in BC where a patient sucessfully sued her orthodontist in 1998 but not much else in Canada. I've noticed that many people on this site seem reluctant to pursue legal cases but when you look at the big picture you understand that things will only change when there are cases on the books to stop orthodontists from causing the type of harm that has been done to us. Until then they will continue using outdated, abusive methods and denying the harm they cause to innocent patients. I strongly feel pursuing justice and accountability in the legal system is the only way to change the dental communities approach to treatment and patients well being. I offer my support to anyway pursuing justice and accountablity since together we have the power to get the compensation we deserve and the treatment we desperately need and the power to protect others from our fate. The orthodontist who harmed us ignored our pain and suffering and doctored the records and lied. I am able to prove this thankfully but it will take time and it the meantime he is touching innocent patients, mostly children. Our faces have been caved in from our jaws being forced back. Our teeth and jaws are permanently damaged and we have suffered horribly. What he did to us is nothing less than assault. If it had been caused by a car accident we would be easily entitled to compensation but some seem reluctant to pursue compensation from a dental professional. In fact we are even more entitled to accountability and compensation from a health professional since we trusted them and paid them to take care of us and they are obligated to do no harm. The information about the TMJ/ortho connection has been common knowledge for 30 years, they all know they just do everything they can to keep it from the general public. If we don't stand up and do everything we can to inform the public and fight for the truth to be known, more innocent victims with suffer our fate and the cost is great. My son and I have lost so much, time, money, health, etc... We are now looking at travelling to the US regularly for years for treatment at a cost of at least $40,000 US not including travelling costs, etc...We deserve compensation for what was done to us and so does every other victim. When enough people stand up and demand change and accountability then it will be easier to get help and there will be no more innocent victims. There were professionals qualified to help us close to home but they wouldn't because they were more interested in protecting their fellow dental professional. They left us suffering for months and would have left us forever if we hadn't found help elsewhere. Health professionals are obligated to put the patients well being first but dental professionals do not. They circle the wagons and lie and the only way to stop them is to stand up and let the general public know what's happening. If someone had done this before us then this would not have happened to us and we would have gotten immediate help if it had. The only way to help others and protect them from our fate is to speak out and fight to make it common knowledge. The best way to do this is through the court system since money seems to be the only thing that matters to most orthodontists. If they fear it will cost them only then will they change but not before that. If our TMJ had been caused by a car accident we would have gotten immediate help and compensation. Our pain and suffering is equal if not worse because it was caused by a health professional we trusted. Don't let them keep their dirty little secret at our expense while they avoid responsibility and make money off useless treatments and therapies. I have spoken to the media and they are willing to report our stories if we pursue it legally. They can not get involved until a lawsuit is file because they will get sued. If you want to help other people the only way is to pursue it legally so that the magazines and newspapers etc... are free to report on it. Without legal action the media is afraid to get involved because they could be sued but once a lawsuit has been filed they are free to report the story. I had never heard of TMJ before this happened to us and I had no idea orthodontics could hurt you, if we pursue it legally then people we know about TMJ and what causes it and treatment will be easier to find because it won't be a big secret anymore. We have to work to inform others, it's the only way to help ourselves and protect others. Bring TMJ out of the shadows and in to the light, don't allow dental professionals to keep their dirty little secret and make money off our suffering. All these pain clinics are nonsense because they do not address the cause and therefore keep you suffering. TMJ is the name of the jaw joint, and the symptoms are deferred from the nerves at that back of the jaw joint. Massaging the muscles does nothing because the pain will return, the only chance of a cure is to address the root cause which is most often the condyle being pushed back, the posterior placement of the lower jaw which is most often caused by the alignment of the teeth since the teeth decide the resting place of the jaw. Any treatment that does not address the jaw joint, jaw and teeth alignment is a waste of time and money. The only chance of a cure is to address the cause.
Please write back and let me know how you feel about what I've said. I have researched TMJ and our situation in great depth and I will happily share everything I've learned with you and support you in your pursuit of justice.
Kelly