the one with the dentist's chair

i read somewhere that the most successful people in life are those that regularly (if not gladly) visit their dentists. this doesn't mean that if you have shiny, white teeth you are guaranteed to have a life that is equally shiny and splendid :) what that simply means is that, people who visit their dentist are those that know how to recognize and acknowledge their problems and seek help when necessary, which in the adult world is usually the case by the way, whether the problem is as simple as a toothache or tooth cavity :)

i avoid going to the dentist as much as i can... i don't hate the experience all that much but i dont really enjoy sitting on the dentist's chair and have someone pull my cheeks up and down in order to exercise or examine my mouth. i do not like the taste of clinic water or the smell of surgical gloves and im pretty sure im not alone in feeling this way.

however, in my case going to the dentist as soon as possible is necessary and can no longer be delayed because unfortunately, i am one of those people that have this thing called TMJ Syndrome, the symptoms of which are not really deadly but also far from pretty. basically, what TMJ does is prevent blood from flowing in my brain because the largest artery from the heart passes through that portion below our ears connecting the jaw and skull. when blood can't get into your brain you know that you will have all sorts of problems. to me, these are the symptoms: nausea, back and shoulder and neck pains, blurriness of eyesight, massive headache if i lack sleep, insomnia and difficulty speaking, chewing, yawning.

for the past few days, i have been seeing the effects of TMJ on me and so i avoid opening my mouth for long periods of time (to talk or sing and do all sorts of things)... you cannot really cure TMJ, there is no surgical treatment for it... but you can cure the symptoms by trying to develop muscle tissues between the skull and the jaw. this is why i have my splint, to prevent the jaw and the skull from rubbing against each other and to allow my body to build those muscle tissues. but im sure by now whatever muscle tissues i have been able to "grow" in the past have been ripped apart and torn down by all the chewing and talking and yawning i have been doing for the past months. by now, my splint has been worn out so much and is no longer functioning as it should. i badly need to have my splint adjusted... i need to think and feel and clearly again. never mind the smell of clinic water and of surgical gloves and the pain of dentists pulling my face up and down for oral therapy... i would gladly sit on a dentist's chair right now than on any other chair in the world.