kingkang

Hi Thelma,

Well, this might be a little long, but anyways, I started going to Dr. Smith about 2 months ago. In May, I'll have my 3rd time seeing him. So far it's been good. Good meaning I've improved in my symptoms. But here's the thing. My symptoms haven't been as bad as some other cases and I was doing things to alleviate the pain, such as yoga, no loud yawning, sleeping with mouth open, no gum chewing, no nail biting, pretty much everything as stated on Brendan Stack's site.

Ok. I won't make this too long, but I picked Dr. Steve Smith b/c he's had at least 20 yrs of experience in TMJ-related things. He's really nice and knowledgeable. First time I went in, I had to do a consult, then he examined me. Second visit, he did some ultrasound and diathermy and molded me for a NTI b/c I clench at night. I don't wear it every night b/c he's making my jaw sore, and not my TMJ joint.

And I'm not sure what you meant by cosmetic dentist? TMJ is definitely not cosmetic worthy. Oh and the receptionists are really nice. But anyways, to note the important stuff, I have improvements. Again, don't know if its from him or from what I'm doing. It's probably b/c of what I'm doing. But I wanted to go spend money at someone who's an expert and not just a general dentist who say they know about tmj. My dentist was going to offer me a nightguard which cost $500. A nightguard that costs $500? First of all, $500 is a lot of money and a nightguard might make it worse, which is why I went to an expert. My motto is pay alot early on so you don't have to pay alot later. But that doesn't mean Dr. Smith is expensive either. My NTI story is an exception (check that post). haha.