| Re: Should I get treatment? New to Board. Please Help.
WillsMama, I am so glad you posted here. To begin with, I see you are from Nashville, as am I. Any chance this 3 hour consultation was with a Dr. Simmons? If so, we have the same dentist, and yes that initial appointment was chock full of info and very grilling if you ask me.
BUT, your treatment options and some of your symptoms sound a lot like mine. I haven't been terribly concerned with my jaws until the last year or so, when the heaches began. After trying all kinds of things for those, including visiting an ENT regularly to work on my sinuses, it was suggested I see a specialist about TMJ because my lower jaw is very far back. IN other words, my overbite was very bad and getting worse.
I was skeptical of that first visit and probably answered a lot of the questions wrong because my idea of "pain" wasn't really anything horrible or debilitating. Clicking and popping I could live with, and have all my life. But when the doctor started pressing on key points in my neck, shoulders, and even down the middle of my back, I nearly jumped out of the chair in serious pain. He made it clear to me that that is NOT normal...and what I've been living with for 30+ years isn't normal either.
I got my day and night splints a week ago yesterday, and while it's taken some getting sued to, the biggest thing I have noticed, the most amazing thing of all, is how much less my neck and shoulders are hurting. I can touch the sides of my neck without flinching. My husband can rub my shoulders without me gasping in pain - and these are things that I never considered odd before! There shouldn't be any pain when you touch healthy parts of the body, right? Well believe me, I am seeing that now. I commented to my family how I am absolutely floored at how much tension I've been carrying around - so much that I'd incorporated it into my daily life and didn't even consider it uncomfortable! Does any of this ring true with you?
The word is out on how much this will affect my headaches, but if all I ever gain back is freedom from muscle pain, I think I will have gained more than I lost in wearing a splint and spending the money. I didn't realize other people walk around like this, and why haven't I done this sooner? You might not have the same experience, but I certainly hope you get such relief so quickly if you elect to have this too.
I will be in the splints 24/7 for about 9 - 12 months, long enough for the tendons and tissue to shrink back up to where they should have been all along. Then Phase II will begin which are braces to put my teeth in a position that mimics what these splints have falsified. As long as the joints are held in place, the muscles won't spasm and nerves won't get pinched, at least that's it in theory. If I don't get braces, my jaw will go right back to where it was because the muscles have already been weakened by years of poor alignment. I am on strict orders that under no circumstances should I close my mouth without something in it...to prevent the back teeth from closing. He would probably tell you the same thing. If you are having locking problems, those are more serious and can be more costly to fix if you have another lock. You also don't want to get arthritis in the joints later on, and if they are healthy that might be less likely.
It's expensive and while my insurance will cover some of it, a lot of it will be out of pocket for me. But I am desperate to find an answer, and you sound very similar in this. Try not to look at this as a dead end - look at it as an opportunity. I know one of Dr. Simmons' long term patients who is about to start the PHase II part, and she has had amazing success with it. IF we are talking about the same doctor, I am starting to have a lot more faith in him than originally. Of course this is an individual choice, and no one can tell you the right thing to do. He cannot guarantee you will have success either, but he can show you what he has accomplished with others and how the process works. I am gambling with his advice, but I feel I've run out of options. It made sense to me when he explained how the muscles overcompensate, and then things started clicking in my mind that this is simple, but long-term. There will always be those who have had no success, whether due to their circumstances, or their commitment to therapy. Do your research and listen to your instincts, that's what I say.
Please keep asking questions here. I"ve found this group very supportive and informative. Wouldn't it be interesting if we have the same dentist!
Last edited by nynavey; 08-21-2008 at 08:33 PM.
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