What do YOU do at the Dentist's office?

So what do YOU do when you go to the Dentist? Get your teeth cleaned maybe? Get a cavity filled? Well, I do those things too. But have you ever gone to the dentist and ended up looking like this? Ya, I didn’t think so. Well, you’re really missing out. :) As I mentioned in a previous post, I have major TMJ (jaw) problems. And because of this, the dentist’s office has become my second home. In all of 2008, I typically went to the dentist 2-3 times a month. My dentist (Dr. Lesueur) has been trying to solve my jaw problems for a year and a half now. I won’t even try to explain all that’s involved in the process but in the picture you can see that I’m covered in electrodes and an interesting head contraption. This is for the purpose of tracking my jaw movements. Through watching the visuals on the computer, they are able to move my jaw into the “right” position and then make an orthotic for me to wear that would keep my jaw in that right position. Wearing the orthotic would then relieve some of my symptoms which TMJ cause-headaches, hearing loss and other ear problems, jaw popping and so on. Well, I have been through countless different orthotics and none of them have helped. This last year has been a tremendous pain, but my dentist is just so determined to find the solution to my problem. He does not want to give up on me. In the last year and a half, he has had about 40 patients come in for the same treatment as me and has had magnificent results with all of them. All of them except for me anyway. That’s kind of the story of my life. :) I’m the special one I guess. But he’s still determined to figure me out (at no extra cost thank goodness). He really is a great dentist. He has spent so much time and effort in trying to help.

So in October he sent me to a Chiropractor to see if he might be able to help. I mentioned before how I had to see the chiropractor 4x a week at first. Well, 4 months later, I’m finally down to once a week. My Chiropractor said that I have the worst case of TMJ he’s seen. He said that the only person he’s seen that was comparable to me was a guy who was a boxer! Okay, so it’s understandable why a boxer would have jaw problems. But me? Who knows. It’s a big mystery. The good thing is that the chiropractor has been able to help me with my headaches. I’ve only been getting headaches about once a week rather than 5 or more a week. So that’s good. But my jaw problems are still there. My dentist is planning on going to some more training for this particular TMJ treatment in March and hopes to come back with some more ideas on how to help me. Fun times!!

So that I will always remember these “fun” times at the Dentist office, I decided to bring my camera with me on one visit and make my dentist take a picture of me. :) So there you have it!