Your Story 1

I read your story, and I wanted to contact you to tell about mine.

 

I am a 38 year old white male who eats healthy and works out daily.  I have never any had any major health problems whatsoever.  I had one of my upper wisdom teeth removed a few months ago, on the strong recommendation of my dentist.  It was a simple extraction and went fine, but . . . I have had headaches almost daily every since.  They vary with intensity, and there were two days when I had to take off work.

 

I like my dentist and respect him as well.  When I asked him about the headaches a week or so after the procedure, he assured me vehemently that it was not related and suggested a possible sinus infection.

 

I had several friends tell me that they suspected a sinus infection as well, and so I took over the counter prescriptions for several weeks, which moderated the pain.  I still have headaches that vary in intensity and length, and usually just take ibuprofen, which seems to alleviate the majority - but not all - of the pain.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?  I am all ears if so!  Thanks,

Your Story 5

I saw your website and your testimonial about the horrible headaches you endured and I would like to share my situation to help defer people from undergoing this operation without being properly informed.

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed about a month ago. The Oral Surgeon said that they were completely impacted in bone and needed to come out. They put me under general anesteshia (meaning I was asleep) during the procedure.  I felt no pain during the procedure, but almost every day since then I am in agony.

About a week and a half after my procedure, my cheek was so terribly swollen it looked like I had stuffed a golf ball in there. It was painful and tender and hurt to open my mouth. My entire jaw felt like I had been punched. Of course, I went back to the oral surgeon to see what was going on . The first thing he said to me was ,"You haven't been cleaning it correctly and there is food lodged in there." I knew he was wrong because I would clean it for several minutes until I was sure there was nothing left in there. I told him this and he sort of rolled his eyes. He made me sit back in the chair and told me he was going to give me a numbing shot and see what was going on. I told him novocaine doesn't work on me but he did it anyway. It was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life when he shoved a metal rod-looking thingy into the hole to find the 'food'. He then flushed it with high pressured water, causing more excruciating pain. No food came out, but pus did. I then had to sit there while he drained it, until tears were rolling down my cheeks and i begged him to stop. He gave me a prescription for a powerful antibiotic and told me to come back next week. The swelling went down and everything was okay for about a week so i assumed he had gotten the infection.

But about a week ago my jaw swelled up again, this time even larger than before. I was terrified to go back knowing he would probably have to drain it but i was in such pain that i went. This time, I had to have a second surgery. It turns out that during my first surgery he left some bone fragments in there that had become infected and formed an abcess. I had to be put back asleep so he could open the incision up again, go in, and drain the abcess. It is almost a week after my second surgery and I am in a lot of pain. There is now a huge gaping hole in the back corner of my mouth. I wish I had never gotten my wisdom teeth removed.

-name removed for privacy

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Your Story 6

My parents always prioritised dental health, so much so that they worked longer hours and took out financial loans just to struggle to pay for the orthodontic treatment that was supposed to "stop me from having major problems later on in life".

When I was a little 9 yr old kid, during a routine clean and check-up appointment, our family dentist of many years told us he was going to refer me to a local orthodontic specialist because it looked like I was going to develop dental crowding later on. So the orthodontist told my mum that I absolutely MUST have 4 healthy adult teeth extracted to make room and then braces, or else I'd have a mess of a mouth with teeth growing here, there, everywhere. My mum was shocked to hear this because my mouth didn't really look that bad at the time.

This was the start of all my problems... By the time I was 10 I had the teeth out and braces on. I became a very goofy looking pre-teen. By the time I was 12 the braces were off and the retainer plates were on. By the time I was 13 they INSISTED that I NEEDED my wisdom teeth surgically extracted "before they grow roots and become a problem and ruin all the good work done by the braces". I reluctantly went into hospital for the operation under general anaesthetic because they had to cut the gum open as the wisdom teeth were obviously unerrupted at such a young age. These invasive procedures were extremely traumatic and painful for me at the time, both physically and emotionally.

That's a total of 8 perfectly healthy adult teeth removed (you can see where this is leading)..

I always had an oval face shape, but now my face appears concave, drawn and sunken, and I have a receding chin, drooping face and prominent looking nose, which used to look in proportion before all this started. I have very flat zygomatics (cheek bones) and an odd looking 'straight' but artificial and uncomfortable smile. I am saggy under the eyes and seem to have more lines on my face than I should as a teenager. My large, bulging forehead slopes back and I have the longest face. I've been called everything from "horse" to "pin head" and "alien head" in school. I could easily be the poster child of bad quality traditional orthodontic work.

I have a forward head posture and have to see a chiropractor and get therapeutic massages regularly to avoid being in pain with migraines. I wake up with an acute headache every day despite having an expensive posture mattress and pillow. I have researched a lot and subsequently avoid known sources of chemicals, electromagnetic radiation, and all the triggers of ill health. So it just HAS TO BE a structural issue.

Due to an extremely high arched palate, I have many allergies, fatigue easily, and xrays show I have partially obstructed airways. I have always had a sensitive system, but since all this started I developed severe chronic irritable bowel syndrome, which has honestly taken chunks out of my youth in terms of social inhibition due to sickness and anxiety relating to the disorder. My chiro suggests this is because the forward head posture causes subluxations in the cervical vertebrae which compress the vagus nerve, which governs parasympathetic nervous functions such as digestion. I also have trouble swallowing and chewing. I snore, and when I'm awake I constantly re-adjust my body position because I feel short of air. I tend to hold food at the front of my mouth when chewing, which feels awkward. Despite consciously masticating well, I also swallow a lot of air.

Electromyograph tests show I have extremely spasmodic facial muscles and I sometimes even get embarrassing twitches. Despite being a thin girl, I have what appears to be 'extra' surplus saggy skin under my mandible giving it the look of a double chin.

I have early onset gum disease and have had progressive bone loss in my jaw since age 18 (last year). I have always had impeccable dental hygiene and a flawless organic wholefoods diet. Even my periodontist said it must be to do with my bad bite, otherwise idiopathic.

What my parents and I were denied was INFORMED CONSENT regarding the early orthodontic work. We are now attempting to take legal action on those grounds and hoping to get compensation (although nothing can really compensate for what I've been through and what this has done to my life).

The damage to my cranium and face is obvious when one understands the anatomy and physiology side of things (I study this at university so it all makes perfect sense to me). Although I’m not hideous, just plain and unattractive, I have hardly any confidence in my appearance (and believe me, I AM grateful that I’m not grossly deformed, I'm not a self-absorbed person).

I feel extremely violated, upset, angry, and devastated that this could have all been prevented. I understand that compared to other things you've probably seen, I would likely not be considered an extreme case, but the thing that hurts me most is that this is not just "bad genetics". This is medically INFLICTED structural harm. I could have really been a beautiful girl had they left me alone (or better yet done proper treatment during early childhood, ie orthotropic growth guidance instead of artificial facial alteration).

Only in recent years a few different dentists (left the original one due to dissatisfaction) have brought to my attention this issue, which is essentially a good thing because it had lead to me to understand how the poor orthodontic work has been contributing to my ill health and poor appearance, as before I only suspected a connection, due to lack of knowledge.

I have not long ago enlisted the assistance of a new dentist who practices orthodontic correction in my area and appears to be well informed, but after many tests and xrays he said he wants me to get a splint made to align my bite, and then braces again. But I am really dissatisfied with this approach as I want to actually REMEDY what they've done to me, as much as possible. I want to widen my jaw and REPLACE with prosthetic implants, the teeth that they so unjustly extracted when I was just 9 years old. I don't want to make do with a narrow head and put up with my health and breathing and aesthetic burdens forever, at my age it seems so ridiculous.

They have made me aware that if I do nothing the health problems and bone loss will continue and I may eventually require facial reconstructive surgery some years down the track.

What I'm getting to is, I'm seriously going to attemp to UNDO what they've done to me. But I wonder if it's even possible for someone who's still a teenager and had a quarter of all their permanent teeth removed.. I want to expand the palate, reopen spaces and put teeth back in the gaps where they’re supposed to be, and have a pretty, wide smile and a full, healthy looking face again. I understand it will still never be like mother nature intended but I need to try. THIS IS NOT MY FACE. This is the face THEY have given me, and it's completely unfair.

But the vertical slant of my mandible is obvious and sharp, it would probably have to be surgically reconstructed. But I am willing, if I have to. I don't want an abnormally long, narrow face. I don't want to look like some kind of shrimp. I’m a good-willed girl with ambition in life, I don't want their disgusting work to stop me from reaching my potential and keep me suffering. They can't keep doing this to people.

Yes, I will do ANYTHING to get this face back to normal.

I feel like going on every current affairs program on Australian television and shouting to the world to stop giving business to extract-happy dentists and orthos. I really feel compelled to bring this issue into public awareness. They don't deserve people's money. I want the industry to be forced to change into something that is fair and serves the best needs of the innocent patient rather than line the pockets of quacks. Whether they are malicious or simply ignorant I cannot be certain, but either way this is totally unacceptable. What they have done is practically an act of child abuse and it has greatly impacted on my life on so many levels, I just cannot describe. How could they be unaware that what they were doing was harmful? How dare they tell us that their way was the ONLY choice?!

Additionally, the healthcare costs associated with managing the symptoms caused the results of the bad orthodontic have been through the roof..frequent deep cleans at a periodontist with local anaesthetic for infected gum tissue, acupuncture and herbs for IBS, frequent chiro for headaches, orthopaedic bedding, ongoing massage for neck pain, sinus medication, and the list goes on. Not to mention all time off from school and work, and at times general withdrawal from activities.

This is truly like a nightmare. I feel left numb and almost don't believe that this has happened, and is continuing to happen to other oblivious patients who fall into the hands of conventional orthodontic 'treatment'.

The bottom line is: get a second opinion! And if they still want to take teeth out, keep getting a third, fourth, fifth opinion etc, until you find someone who is willing to do safe alternative methods!

-name removed for privacy