KMX

Hi Everyone,
My son and I are suffering horribly with TMJ that was caused by incompetent orthodontic treatment. We have just returned from seeing a world renowned specialist in the US who has agreed to treat us. We were perfectly healthy when we transferred treatment to a new orthodontist when we moved to Calgary but this new orthodontist began pushing hard on our lower jaws and forcing it back and then without our knowledge or consent began forcing our top teeth back to trap our lower jaw back in this forced position. Immediately we began experiencing pain in our jaw joints, jaws and teeth, then our TMJ symptoms grew and grew. We had no idea what was happening to us since we had never heard of TMJ and the orthodontist kept lying to us, telling us our symptoms were a normal part of treatment or unrelated. Within 6 months my son and I were so ill I could no longer work and he was too ill to attend school. Our faces were obviously caved in from our teeth being rammed back and yet the orthodontist refused to acknowledge a problem or refund our money. He also bad mouthed us to other orthodontist so that no one would help us. Further to this he doctored our records and lied about what he did to us, but luckily we can prove this. The dental community knows all about TMJ and what causes it and what needs to be done to cure it but they keep it from the general public to protect themselves from being held accountable and so that they can make money selling us false treatments that never cure us and keep us spending our money to get help. Have you noticed that almost all pain clinics for TMJ are run by dentist or orthodontists yet very few address the alignment of the teeth as part of their treatment? That's the way it is in Alberta. They offer all kinds of therapies that do nothing to address the cause, keeping you sick and dependant on them. TMJ is the name of the jaw joint, big clue. The teeth decide the resting position of the jaw and therefore determine the placement of the condyles within the socket. If the condyles are pushed back they compress a group of nerves that sit in the back of the socket that cause all kinds of seemingly unconnected symptoms but it's deferred pain, meaning you may have eye problems but the eye doctor will find nothing wrong with your eyes. It's the nerves being compressed and sending out messed up signals to cause all these strange symptoms. This means that if your back hurts, massage may temporarily releive some of the pain but since the injury is not actually in the back, the pain will return and you will continue to suffer. Only when the jaw position is corrected, which almost always involves correcting the alignment of the teeth to return the jaw to the correct resting position will the TMJ pain and symptoms be relieved. The headaches, the ear pain, the eye pressure, the numbness in the arms and hands, etc..., all of it is deferred pain so don't try treating the symptoms, address the cause. The displacement of the jaw joints compressing the nerves and sending messed up signals to the brain. When addressing the cause there is a 98% chance of a full recovery and the 2% is only complicated cases with other contributing factors. TMJ is not a mystery anymore, they have known for many years now exactly what it is and what causes it and what will cure it. The only problem is that the dental community has kept it a secret to protect themselves from lawsuits and to make money off our ignorance. Research Dr. John Witzig, he was a leader in discovering the cause of TMJ and the treatment, you can even find his case studies on line and see the process from beginning to end. Push beyond what your being told, it can be cured. I was told that my son and I would have to live our lifetimes suffering with no hope yet I just returned from the US with the knowledge that we will be pain free in the very near future. I spoke to many of his patients that suffered for years, one woman over 40 years and now they are pain free and cured. Only when people refuse to fall for the lies and push harder to know the truth. Only when we pursue negligent practitioners and force them to practice safe orthodontics and dental care will it change. As long as they continue to keep the truth a big secret, we will continue to suffer while they profit on our pain. They count on our fear to keep us in the dark, they make us feel were wrong to question them, they abuse their power over us. I was told that I had analysis paralysis and that I asked too many questions but if I hadn't kept going my son and I would not be on the road to recovery right now. I have been threatened, we have been treated like we have done something wrong but we never gave up and now were getting help. Treatment is very expensive, you can waste it on useless therapies or you can put it towards treatment that will cure you 100%. They don't mind taking your money knowing you will never get better but you mind, don't you? TMJ is not caused by stress but stress makes it worse, like any other chronic illness. TMJ is not a psychological problem but of course being ill and in constant pain has a negative effect on you. Councelling will do nothing to relieve your TMJ pain or symptoms and I would beware any therapist who says otherwise. As long as your suffering your whole body and mind will be effected so the best thing to do is to address the root cause, period. The same is true of medication, the medication does nothing to address the cause of the pain and rarely fully relieves it so taking medication that keeps you in a fog causes more damage than good and hurts your body further. I am not a doctor or a dentist, I am nothing more than a woman suffering from TMJ and the mother of a TMJ sufferer but I am pleading with everyone out there to trust that I have researched TMJ and all the therapies and controversy surrounding it and I believe I know the truth about it and how it's caused and what needs to be done to treat it. Dental professionals and those benefiting with keeping you in the dark will try very hard to convince you otherwise but I have nothing to gain from what I'm telling you other than to help someone who suffers as I do. I was so sick at Christmas time that I was consumed with escaping my pain and only my children kept me going. I had to watch my son suffer, pleading for me to help him and helples, unable to rescue him. I understand how bad it can be and how hard it is to get help and I am committed to helping as many people as I can with my experience. It's the only way I can make sense of it. I will share everything I can with anyone and I will happily answer to critisism because I know with all the misinformation out there it will be hard for many of you to believe me. I respect that many of you have been suffering much longer than I have but I have talked with a woman who suffered 40 years who is now cured and I know she only found relief when she addressed the cause, the alignment of her jaw and teeth. She tried everything and was close to the end but now she's okay. Don't settle for pain management, you can be pain free and get your life back. Also it's important to know that TMJ is progressive so it will get much worse if the cause is not addressed, massage therapy will not prevent this from happening, or any other pallitive care. Also if you have TMJ your teeth and jaw joints are being damaged every minute of everyday and you will end up much worse without the proper treatment. My son and I have had it for a little over a year yet our teeth and jaw joints have suffered severe damage. If you haven't already, have your TMJ's x-rayed to determine the damage. I met a man who was injured in a car accident over 20 years ago and only started getting really sick the last couple of years. When his jaw joints were examined it showed he had been suffering all those years but men are much slower to show symptoms compared to woman so he had no idea after he recovered from the original injury, that he was suffering continued damage. It was only when his vision and eyes became seriously affected that he began looking for the cause and was diagnosed with TMJ. As far as orthodontic treatment goes, it should be mandatory to x-ray the TMJ's before and during treatment so that any injury or change in the jaw position is immediately apparent and can be addressed before any damage occurs. This is the best way to protect patients, along with knowing the signs and symptoms of TMJ and fully understanding what causes it so that they can protect themselves. Since whenever the teeth are moved it affects the jaw and leaves the patient at risk of TMJ, though orthodontics should never result in TMJ. Also dentists should inform patients routinely of TMJ signs and symptoms since a filling done to high or a missing tooth can also cause a change in your bite that leads to TMJ. Well I could go on and I, as I'm sure you have noticed, so I'll end it here and invite you all to respond to what I've written.
Kelly