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The third TMJ doctor: I had to go to a third TMJ doctor when I was about 30-years old. My old splint was hurting me teeth, my jaw was severely swollen and popping-grinding and getting stuck all the time, and my jaw was moving so crooked when I chewed that I broke one of my bottom teeth with my top tooth while chewing one day. I didn't want to go back to Dr. "C" because he was such a rotten excuse for a human being. I didn't want to go back to Dr. "G" because he might still have mistress ideas. So I started searching for a referral to a good TMJ specialist. Of coarse, Jim said his rapid and ticked off famous line, "I can't afford it," but I was unrelenting. I was not going to bash all my teeth against each other until they were all broken out of my mouth! Jim suggested that I just stop wearing the splint all together if it was hurting me, I tried that and my teeth started to get ground away again. So I refused to continue with that plan of inaction. Jim bought a one-dollar bite plate from Wal-mart, I would only use that temporarily and it was making my jaw swell up more. Jim thought I was being unreasonable. He couldn't afford to do anything about my problem and when he said this it was, as always, with venom. I became mean and witchy and vocal to the world about the state of my disintegrating jaw and Jim made an appointment for me to see an orthodontist our family dentist recommended. This orthodontists, I don't recall his name, examined me briefly and said there was nothing he could do. After that I did some research and found out about the illustrious Dr. "T." Always be afraid of famous doctors! I made an appointment to see Dr. "T" after speaking with his office staff and hearing the loftiest praise I have ever heard about any other human being or animal alive. Jim was nonplussed. We went to see Dr. "T" on the appointment date and Dr. "T" was another monster that I will never forget. He seemed to be in a terrible mood from the first moment I saw him in his office. He examined me briefly. He had my jaw x-rayed and there was some inflammation. He examined my neck and the muscles were destroyed beyond repair. He looked at my old splint and it had become warped in some way that made it no longer fit me. I asked him how a splint could become ruined like this and he said that it happens sometimes, that this was an older splint. Then Dr. "T" didn't want to make another splint for me because he didn't like me. I had let my neck go to Hell. I was stupid to let my neck go like that. I was a hypochondriac for saying my jaw was probably swollen from some mystery disease.. On and on, Dr. "T" was literally speaking to me like I was a stupid awful filthy lice infested street person that had stumbled drunk and stinking and covered with vomit old and new into his office. The very sight of me seemed to offend him in every way. Dr. "T" called Jim into the examining room and had a loud boisterous conversation about Jim regarding what a rotten person I was. Dr. "T" had a grand time saying the following: What a hypochondriac I was, and how I gave Jim who was such a wonderful guy such a hard time, and about how I nagged and badgered poor sweet Jim all the time, and how mean and nasty I was at home. It was truly bizarre and it all shocked me horribly. This was literally like something that couldn't possibly be real and yet it was happening right in front of my eyes. I had NOT told Dr. "T" a single thing about Jim nor a single thing about me personally beyond the trouble with my jaw and the possibility that there was an underlying cause. Dr. "T" had spoken to me for about 15 minutes and now he and Jim were having a bashing party and I was the one being bashed. They were doing it all right there in front of me. I felt my head start to spin and I just fought not to cry or scream or go crazy right there in that room. It went on and on. I set my mind to steel as best as I could and I waited for Jim and Dr. "T" to stop having a good time at my expense. I needed that splint. I was beginning not to want that splint anyway. I still needed that splint. Jim was beaming with pure pleasure, having the best time ever as he and Dr. "T" talked about how terrible I was in every way. Jim laughed and chuckled and Dr. "T" would insult me some more. I felt something inside of me begin to snap. I held it all together though. I sat silent as stone most of the time. My eyes fixed on them but looking right through them. I'd guarantee anyone that my ears were working perfectly. My hearing is excellent. Finally their good time was over and Dr. "T" agreed to make me one of his precious splints if I promised to be good and not bother Jim anymore. Dr. "T" then showed me a sample of one of his splints and he held it up in the air and caressed it like it was a beloved child. It was too bizarre. However, the splint looked good as Dr. "T" explained how it was made. A number of weeks later my new splint was ready and Jim and I went to pick it up. I said as little as possible to Dr. "T" and was eager to get out of there! Jim paid a lot of money for that splint. Dr. "T" was extremely expensive. A few months went by and I had to go see Dr. "T" again to make sure the splint was fitting me properly. Jim and I went and I was filled with dread and ready to rage at Dr. "T" if he pulled that stunt again. I had my splint now and Dr. "T," the creep, couldn't take it away from me. It was paid for in full! My jaw was doing much better by this time. The swelling was nearly gone. I would probably have punched Dr. "T" if he'd abused me again. He would have been the first person ever to get hit in any way by me. I wouldn't have cared about getting into legal trouble at that moment. The wound from that last appointment was so very raw. We arrive and Dr. "T" breezed into the examining room, shining and happy and filled with grace and kindness for everyone. Dr. "T" had just returned from a European vacation and it had apparently stabilized him. The splint was fitting me fine and Dr. "T" was ready to make the appointment to repair the rest of the alignment problem with my teeth. During that first appointment I had agreed to have my teeth ground down to appease Dr. "T" so that I could have the splint. Now I had the splint and I was not letting this monster near my teeth! To be graceful I told Dr. "T" that I would make the appointment for the grinding over the phone as soon as I got home and looked at my schedule completely. I smiled and was as charming as I could possibly be. Dr. "T" looked at me suspiciously and started telling me how I really needed to get the rest of the work done for my health. His voice was suddenly rather wheedling in its tone. I just promised once again that I'd call his office when I got him and smiled some more. I am a person who normally feels horribly guilty if I tell even a white lie, but I've never felt any guilt at all for lying to Dr. "T"! I left the office that day with a perfectly fitting splint and I never spoke to Dr. "T" again. I heard later that he moved back to Europe where he now lives full time. His splint truly was a work of art. I ripped into Jim verbally for his sick abusive participation in whatever bizarre game Dr. "T" was playing and after Jim finished raging at me for having the nerve to confront him on it, he admitted that it really wasn't the right thing to do. Jim would have loved to invalidate me and deny what had happned if he could have, but even Jim knew that I was speaking an undeniable truth. A truth so ugly and so fresh, so new, that even he couldn't pretend it didn't happen. He promised that he'd never do it again and I never gave him a chance to do it again. |
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