Hi, I’m Jennifer!
I’m the Financial Coordinator here at Buzbee Dental. I’ve been here for about 13 years– you’ve probably seen me around from time to time. Aside from dealing with insurance, I primarily work one on one with our patients to figure out what treatment options are best for them. This is anything from braces, to root canals, to TMD. (For those who are unfamiliar with the term, TMD stands for Temporomandibular Disorder, which is basically pain and dysfunction of the jaw joint. Symptoms can range from tooth, facial, and neck and shoulder pain, to ringing in the ears and headaches. It is estimated that more than 10 million Americans are affected.)
Today, TMD is on my mind, and I just wanted to share something that really struck a chord with me this week.
A couple of days ago, I got to touch base with one of our lovely patients. This patient came in a few weeks ago for a TMD consultation. She was very sorry she hadn’t been in for so long- (funny how time flies!) But, she had been dealing with some medical issues and chronic pain for the past 3 years, and had made that her priority. Who can blame her, right?
This patient explained everything she has been through trying to find the source of her constant headaches, neck and ear pain. From year-long waits to get into specialists, MRI and CT scans ruling out brain aneurysms and tumors… to multiple medications that didn’t work, and had horrific side effects… to treatments that offered temporary relief, but were thousands of dollars and not covered by insurance.
Listening to her ordeal, and seeing what she had been through was heartbreaking. It’s hard for anyone who doesn’t live with chronic pain to imagine how hard each day must be. As this patient stated, “to live in daily pain, is not living at all”.
Fortunately, at this patient’s consultation, Dr. Todd was able to identify the cause of her symptoms, and more importantly: help. We were able to offer short-term treatment- which included a temporary dental appliance, to help with her TMD issues. After 2 weeks of wearing this appliance, she reported that she was down from taking 2-3 pain pills per day, to 2-3 pain pills PER WEEK. This is life changing!
I think I was just inclined to share this story because unfortunately, this isn’t the first patient to tell me a story like this, and I can’t stand the thought of how many other people out there are dealing with the same situation! If this sounds like someone you know- reach out! We may be able to help.
As for this wonderful patient, we have taken the next steps in her treatment, and hope to share the rest of her story, and others like her story soon.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog! We have some more info on TMD on our other pages, or you can always reach out with any questions you may have.
Jennifer