Meeting the Orthodontist

In September 2012 I met my orthodontist, Dr R.  During the first consultation, Dr R  spent time walking through the mechanics of the TMJ with me.  We then discussed my symptoms like the clicking & popping noises that you can hear from across the room, lateral deviations of my jaw with opening and closing, muscle spasms and tension that lead to days of nothing but migraines...etc
We also discussed potential causes of my TMD. I have bruxism (night teeth grinding/clenching) that increases with stress (not that there is any of that in graduate school!!).  I had a traumatic fracture of my zygomatic arch (cheekbone) in high school. I had braces for ~1.5 year when I was 7 years old for an overbite (potential overcorrection?) ..etc

Dr R explained to me that he has been able to help many people with TMD.  He was very honest  and upfront with me and said that many people with TMD require surgical correction, but that there is a small percent who can benefit from conservative methods and end up not needing the surgery.
Conservative method?? That might get rid of my headaches?? Sign me up!!  Only problem is that TMJ problems are not typically covered by insurance. Dental insurances claim its part of the face and so refuse it and Medical Insurance claims its part of the mouth and so refuse it.  Of course! Why would something that causes me chronic pain be covered by insurance?!?!  Luckily I have a very, very supportive husband who is all for having a happy, pain-free wife and jointly we decided that it would be worth it to switch back to ramen noodle dinners to give this conservative method a shot.

So I called and scheduled my appointment for a CT scan, x-rays, and to make molds of my teeth.