What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California
Hi, When I was first in sixth grade I began getting orthodontal work done to correct my teeth. A year or so into it i noticed after wearing rubber bands that were pulling my jaw to a certain side, that i developed a small clicking noise in my jaw. It was too bad at first, but now I am twenty years old and the problem has developed so much that it is almost unbearable. I have gone to a doctor who sent me to get an MRI of the TMJ joints, I will post the findings as written by the examining doctor here to those who might understand it.
Findings : On the left side, the mandibular condyle appears to be within the range of normal limits. However, on the closed mouth sequence, the meniscus is dislocated anteriorly and somewhat laterally. With mouth opening, as seen on the sagittal sequence, there appears to be normal translation of th eleft meniscus and condyle with recaptjuring of the condyle in the anterior-posterior plane. There appears to be normal tra nslation of the condyule in relationship to the articular eminence.
On the right side, the condyle appears to be within the range of normal limits. However, in the closed mouth sequence the meniscus is displaced anteriorly but not laterlaly. With mouht opening, there appears to be normal translation of the right condyle in relationship to the articular eminene and there is recapturing of the meniscus.
There is no significant joint effusion on either side
Impression : 1. Bilateral internal derangement with the menisci dislocated anteriorly in the closed mouth sequence. The left meniscus is also dislocated laterally in the closed mouth sequence.
2. There is recapturing of each meniscus best seen in the sagittal open mouth sequences.
Okay so keep in mind I really have no clue what any of this means. Anyways afterwards the doctor who sent me to get the MRI made me a small mouthpiece to wear on my teeth to keep them in a different position, but it didnt really help. He sent me to a jaw surgeon, who in turn sent me to an orthodontist because the jaw surgeon believed that my bite needed to be readjuted.
What struck particularly about the meeting i had with this jaw surgeon is he mentioned something about "functional" and "unfunctional" bite alighments resulting from orthodontic (braces) work. Now I have a couple of questions.
Is it a possibility that my problem was caused by the orthodontic work I had done, which resulted in me getting an "unfunctional" bite, and that in turn causing my jaw to move in ways which were not natural, which resulted in the TMJ problems?
Would this be considered mal practice? Are there any legal grounds on which I can file a lawsuit if needed?
If there is anybody out there with some answers, I would greatly appreciate any time spent and any help given. This problem is really bothering me and making my life miserable. All I want is to get it fixed so I can start concentrating on other things! So thanks for reading, I know this was long, and again thank you.
California
Hi, When I was first in sixth grade I began getting orthodontal work done to correct my teeth. A year or so into it i noticed after wearing rubber bands that were pulling my jaw to a certain side, that i developed a small clicking noise in my jaw. It was too bad at first, but now I am twenty years old and the problem has developed so much that it is almost unbearable. I have gone to a doctor who sent me to get an MRI of the TMJ joints, I will post the findings as written by the examining doctor here to those who might understand it.
Findings : On the left side, the mandibular condyle appears to be within the range of normal limits. However, on the closed mouth sequence, the meniscus is dislocated anteriorly and somewhat laterally. With mouth opening, as seen on the sagittal sequence, there appears to be normal translation of th eleft meniscus and condyle with recaptjuring of the condyle in the anterior-posterior plane. There appears to be normal tra nslation of the condyule in relationship to the articular eminence.
On the right side, the condyle appears to be within the range of normal limits. However, in the closed mouth sequence the meniscus is displaced anteriorly but not laterlaly. With mouht opening, there appears to be normal translation of the right condyle in relationship to the articular eminene and there is recapturing of the meniscus.
There is no significant joint effusion on either side
Impression : 1. Bilateral internal derangement with the menisci dislocated anteriorly in the closed mouth sequence. The left meniscus is also dislocated laterally in the closed mouth sequence.
2. There is recapturing of each meniscus best seen in the sagittal open mouth sequences.
Okay so keep in mind I really have no clue what any of this means. Anyways afterwards the doctor who sent me to get the MRI made me a small mouthpiece to wear on my teeth to keep them in a different position, but it didnt really help. He sent me to a jaw surgeon, who in turn sent me to an orthodontist because the jaw surgeon believed that my bite needed to be readjuted.
What struck particularly about the meeting i had with this jaw surgeon is he mentioned something about "functional" and "unfunctional" bite alighments resulting from orthodontic (braces) work. Now I have a couple of questions.
Is it a possibility that my problem was caused by the orthodontic work I had done, which resulted in me getting an "unfunctional" bite, and that in turn causing my jaw to move in ways which were not natural, which resulted in the TMJ problems?
Would this be considered mal practice? Are there any legal grounds on which I can file a lawsuit if needed?
If there is anybody out there with some answers, I would greatly appreciate any time spent and any help given. This problem is really bothering me and making my life miserable. All I want is to get it fixed so I can start concentrating on other things! So thanks for reading, I know this was long, and again thank you.