Dr. Roubal's Omaha, Nebraska blog

Omaha, Nebraska

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Back and Jaw Pain

I had a patient referred to me by their general dentist. She had two new temporary crowns placed and almost immediately noted jaw joint popping, facial pain, and headaches. The general dentist could not find anything wrong with the temporary crowns, so the patient was referred to me for diagnosis and treatment. The patient denied any previous pain issues or jaw problems prior to the new temporaries. Upon initial exam, it was apparent that the woman had spent many, many hours in a dental chair. She had extensive dentistry present and many worn down teeth and other signs and symptoms of temperomandibular dysfunction (TMD). She did admit later in the exam to having "sinus headaches" and some neck pain for which she did seek chiropractic care. She also was getting routine massage therapy. Probably due to her extreme discomfort, she agreed to treatment for her TMD problem which pre-existed her temporary crown placement. In less than three weeks, she reported about at 75% improvement in all pain and dysfunction problems and even commented, "my chronic lower back pain is gone, could this be due to this TMD treatment?" Yes, we changed the posture of the entire body and after we see backs get better!

Yours for better health, Dr. Roubal

posted by Dr. Roubal at 8:45 AM

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Patient was told she had no options is now a new woman!

A middle aged female just was in for her one week post insertion orthotic check. She had a sleep apnea problem for which she was also being treated for by a CPAP machine. Or, should I say, she had a sleep apnea problem that was not being treated because she couldn't stand wearing her CPAP. She talked to her doctor about this and basically he told her that if she didn't wear it, she was want to stay sick!! Wow, what a response! Unfortunately, not the only time I have head this from patients. She was also having headaches, ear pain, facial pain, and fatigue. One week later, she is a new woman! Even I am amazed by her new energy and how well she feels and is doing! No pain, sleeping very well, and can work all day. She is thrilled beyond belief and is not very happy right now with her doctor. She told me she is going to see him and report on her recovery and is telling everyone who will listen about her new well being.

I love this stuff!

Yours for better health, Dr. Roubal

posted by Dr. Roubal at 8:33 AM

Skeptical patient is now a great success story!

I just reviewed progress with a middle aged male patient. He was quite skeptical about starting treatment with me since his dentist told him he didn't have a TMJ problem. His complaints were headaches and facial pain. He even debated about stopping treatment about a week into treatment because at that point he wasn't seeing any changes in his symptoms. After some thought process, he decided to proceed with his orthotic wear since he had already paid for most of the treatment cost. He had a trip planned and I did not see him for about two weeks. When he came back for his post vacation visit, he reported a great improvement in symptoms. He continued to improve over our typical 90 day treatment time. Today I can report that he is thrilled with the results of our treatment for his muscle related/bite positional problem. His dentist was correct, he did not have a TM joint problem, but the other problems he did have were not recognizable by typical dental examination. We see this all the time as our approach is quite unique in the dental world, this is why we see such great success!

Yours for better health, Dr. Roubal

posted by Dr. Roubal at 8:14 AM

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Pain Comes Back Worse

We recently had a female patient who we first examined about four years ago. At that time, she declined treatment due to her feeling the cost exceeded her pain problems. Well, guess what, she's back. Now, the pain is much worse! On new examination, her ability to open her mouth is drastically less, her TM joints are much more degenerated and she has developed other painful problems. I would suspect we may not be able to get as complete resolution of her symptoms today versus 4 years ago; or it will take longer, cost more, or we will need to refer out for either (or both) chiropractic or physical therapy help. Her presentation of further suffering and degeneration without treatment is very typical of headache, facial pain, TM joint patients. These problems do not go away without treatment , they may "quiet" down occasionally, but that doesn't mean they went away. The old adage is very true, a ounce prevention is worth a pound of cure.

posted by Dr. Roubal at 8:12 AM

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

I'm back!

Because of the holidays and our terrible winter weather, maybe just me being also a little bit slow (lazy), I have not posted for sometime. "I'm back!!"

Obviously, we have kept healing our patients and have had several patients reporting fantastic results. One patient had been in a very severe car accident over a year ago. She had neck surgery (cervical fusion) for neck pain, but continued to have remaining pain issues such as headaches, facial pain, and ear pain. She did not look or feel happy! She has not been able to work because of the pain. I am very pleased to report she had a very quick, virtually a 100%, resolution of her symptoms after her oral orthotic was placed. One week later, she is a new person, looks and feels great. Looking to get back and be a contributing member of society again! She is not unusual in that she got a lot better with our treatment. Our patients enjoy a 90% plus success in symptom improvement or relief.

posted by Dr. Roubal at 8:41 AM

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