I came here to ask patients who have been through what I'm about to go through what I need to know.
But since they're not responding and I'm getting challenges from dentists, I'll ask you experts to indicate what options I have. Please respond quickly because I've got 48 hours in which to make initial decisions.
The primary problem is potential damage to the few teeth that take the brunt of the chewing load. The cause is an upper jaw that's V-shaped and a lower jaw that's U-shaped. A secondary problem is TMJ tension and discomfort. The teragoids (sp?) are tight 24/7 and nightguards, physical therapy, acupuncture, and medication for focal distonia have hardly made a difference. On a side-note: I've always been a slow eater, and now I understand that it's because the upper and lower molars never meet and therefore it takes a lot more chews for me to process food. Thank G-d I enjoy food mindfully.
I have a hairline crack in one tooth, which happened in an unusual incident trying to bite into a traditional hard cookie in a foreign country and I pulled on the cookie while biting. (Yes, I understand now that was a bad idea.) My dentist is worried that although that's a one-off incident it's also a harbinger of future damage. The jaw tension comes from muscles compensating for malocclusion. (I won't be able to explain the specifics of that.)
Jaw surgery and orthodontics were considered, but the difference between the shapes of the upper and lower arch are too different for either of them to work. Now I know why an orthodontist told my parents when I was a teen that braces for me would be much more expensive and uncomfortable than for other kids. They didn't do orthodontics back then. After jaw surgery was ruled out by a highly regarded maxillofacial department at a highly regarded hospital in the large U.S. city where I live, my dentist suggested prosthodontics. Three prosthodontics clinics gave the same general solution: crowns on most or all teeth to even out the bite, stabilize the jaw's movement, and hopefully as a result also allow my jaw muscles to unlearn the need to stay tense.
So, in your countries, what treatment would solve malocclusion bad enough to cause tooth damage and jaw tension and pain? I'm not interested in normative arguments about expensive U.S. healthcare and just interested in solutions and their attendant likely outcomes, risks, and risk prevention steps.
