emotional anguish over TMJ splint therapy/braces/surgery. here's advice for YOU

[spookygee]

hey everyone, i wanted to post this thread to give you ADVICE so you don't end up in the same situation i am in right now (although the jaw surgery was successful)

the truth is, little is known on how to treat tmj effectively. too many dentists fabricate occlusal splints and do not warn patients of the potential irreversible effects to the bite and how it could make things worse. only certain tmj specialists know what is right for each patient.

i seeked treatment 6 years ago for TMJ(a whole boatload of symptoms i no longer experience now thankfully), and was made a full-coverage splint by my dentist, had it adjusted every two weeks. it changed my bite. I always had a bit of an overbite or overjet, but the splint created an open bite that i was told had to be fixed surgically after pursuing ortho work after the splint. i didnt realize this all at the time. after the splint broke at the molars, he cut it in half and let me wear it for a few months that way. at that point, it basically became an NTI splint(covering the front teeth), which there are many stories online about how it changed other people's bites or gave them an open bite due to super-eruption of the uncovered teeth (in my case the back teeth)

i feel like i was lied to by my dentist who never mentioned anything about permanent bite changes. i also feel like i was lied to by my ortho who knew i wore the splint but didn't seem to think it caused any big changes. i recently saw a photo of my teeth before wearing the splint where more teeth in the front meet vs after the splint changed things. it made me realize what the splint did, and where the course of treatment led me. i was talked into having jaw surgery (lefort 1), and was scared sesame to go through it, but i ultimately did it anyway hoping for stable results and relief from the symptoms i was experiencing all the time

now looking back, all i think about was this web of lies that led me to have a major surgery that might not have needed to take place in the first place had i been treated/diagnosed properly. not only could i have potentially avoided the surgery with TADs(which i mentioned to the ortho as an option, but since they were new at the time, they were concerned about relapse), i probably wouldn't have even needed the TADs had i just had braces put on before agreeing to wear a splint. i probably should have done more research before agreeing to 'any' type of treatment, even the splint, but i was younger and didn't consider this and figured doctors know better than me or the internet.

i have emotional and anger issues now because of this. my past trust issues have manifested towards a lack of trust towards some medical professionals. i'm lucky that the surgery went well, but all i think about is that i had my face broken due to the negligence of my dentist and the emotional toll this entire process took on me. why would someone want to feel like they went through a major surgery for no reason, or that they accidently created the issue that necessitated the surgery? please, i urge you to consider this post before pursuing any medical treatment in the future

also the surgeon diagnosed me as having 'vertical maxillary excess' which is common in people with open bites or long faces, but because i didn't have an actual open bite until after the splint, it makes me question whether this diagnosis was pulled out of his ass. like the thought of if you can just have erupted molars from a splint and the surgeon can slap a 'now' questionable diagnosis on it

lots of people have bite issues their whole lives, know they need surgery years beforehand, and are more set on it than me - i had about a years time between being told it was required to the procedure itself. now i look back and think i made a hasty decision without doing enough research

i've posted these before, but here's some photos https://imgur.com/a/IJDPE

[Marriedonmaui]

I'm so sorry. I feel the same way. I've had so many complications I would bore you to tears if I listed them all. I could have lived with what I had forever and maybe had to get some crowns later. At 42 with this surgery my bite is open everywhere and balancing on my premolars. I will need all posterior crowns when this is over. What I was trying to avoid. I'm mad at everyone on my care team (all though my surgeon has been good to me with my issues) I am especially mad at myself as a dental hygienist I thought I was doing the right thing, especially after interviewing several orthodontists. Im really depressed and anxious. I now have an open bite and and underbite. Looks ridiculous and nonfunctional. Praying for relapse, can you believe it. All that money flushed down the toilet. I know it will be hard to trust other medical personnel but most are really into it to help people not make a quick buck. You did what you thought was best at the time. I did too. Is there a solution for you? I could have my bsso redone at least to fix my underbite but I'm terrified to do so with all of my complications thus far. Thanks for posting. You are not alone although sometimes it feels that way. I get it! Be well and good to yourself.

[Marriedonmaui]

Byw, looked at your pics. Could only open the first page. Which picture is before and after? Just curious?

[Marriedonmaui]

I forgot to mention Sarpe surgery ruined my nose!!! Omg I am so depressed. My nose is wide, flattened, and looks droopy. Ugh if I could go back in time

[Marrigold]

Hi everyone,
I found out that that NTI device my dentist recommended to me, and sold to me, caused an open bite. My dentist DID NOT INFORM me that these devices are known to cause an open bite in some patients and that I needed to be monitored closely by him. He KNEW that I am an expat living abroad and that my pattern of coming to his office for visits was once a year to once every year and a half. If a patient must be monitored closely when put on an NTI night guard, then he should have understood that I wasn't a good candidate. Clearly he was not considering the open bite issue at all. He simply told me to wear the device a night, and sent me on my way. I wore it at night for a year and half before I returned to the US and had a follow up with him. At that point I told him that I was experiencing a weird inability to form words clearly. This should have tipped him off. Now I know that this is a clear symptom of open bite! But guess what his response was? "See a speech therapist." Really? I am suddenly going to have trouble out of no where forming words when I am in my 50s?

It never occurred to me that the NTI device had anything to do with it. Since he'd never divulged to me the true information about this device, I had zero idea that it could cause an open bite. Luckily I went to a dentist in Italy and he took one look in my mouth and said, "what the heck is going on?" He IMMEDIATELY asked me if I was utilizing a night guard. He explained that the NTI one, which covers only the front teeth is one he would NEVER recommend. He explained to me how and why it causes an open bite.

I reached out to my main dentist in the US, to let him know what had happened. He was defensive and unwilling to accept responsibility. He tried to blame me for not visiting him often enough, which is BS because he knows I have ALWAYS been an expat ever since I first started seeing him. He clearly had paid no attention to the information about the problems the NTI device can create. If he had, he would have recognized the "unable to form words" symptom that I shared with him.

The upshot is, I am facing expensive invisaline that I cannot afford. I have been out of work for 2 years due to the pandemic. I check with some lawyers and they won't take it on as they feel they can't "prove" that my open bite was caused by the NTI. The NTI absolutely caused it. A look at my dental records shows I had no open bite before using the device. My Italian dentist says 100% for sure the NTI device caused it. But lawyers unfortunately won't go there so now what?

The dentist gets away with negligence and I am told I need corrective treatment that I can't afford. Where do I go to complain further? Any suggestions?

And have any of you found a solution that's fixed your open bite for not a huge cost?