Testimonial – 702

For years I struggled with jaw pain and the side effects associated with TMJ and apnea. I was having migraines daily, clicking, popping, locking… Plus I had very poor sleeps, as well as clenching constantly and grinding at night. Further, my jaw was so sore all the time. There were times I couldn’t even talk and had restricted my diet to items I didn’t have to chew a lot. Imagine running a marathon and your legs are just so tired you just want to collapse at the finish line. I had that feeling with my jaw… But it never ended. I found myself crying from the pain of it all. So I explored options like braces, elastics, and implants to change the way my jaw behaved and even tried exercises to “strengthen my weak jaw”. What I didn’t realize was that the steps I was taking was actually weakening my jaw and deteriorating the joint even more. I was told the only other option for me was an invasive surgery where my jaw would be broken and reconstructed in a way that didn’t cause me such pain. And the only place to do this surgery was out of country.
Then my dentist phoned me and assured me this was NOT an appropriate route to take. He gave me a referral to Dr. Lawson and I set up a consultation immediately (I couldn’t wait any longer… This had gone on for years). I filled out a survey of my symptoms and pain areas provided by the friendly team and brought that in. My consultation with Dr Lawson was extremely thorough and he was very patient to explain what he was doing and why. I learned that even though I felt just my jaw was the only thing to worry about, my pain was negatively effecting other parts of my body. A lot of the tests seemed a little ” smoke and mirrors” at first, but once explained the reasons behind them made sense. Dr. Lawson also pinpointed my most painful areas and measured how wide I could open my mouth. I was surprised because it was only a few centimeters.
He described a night appliance that would help alleviate the pain because it moved my bottom jaw forward and away from my joint which was extremely deteriorated. Dr. Lawson gave me a full money back guarantee if I didn’t have positive results. I took a chance and committed.
The next day I felt immediate relief. My pain had drastically reduced and my symptoms (though not totally gone) had subsided tremendously. It was literally overnight. I knew something was working and kept wearing the appliance at night until my pain and symptoms were completely gone.
I have had consistent checkups with Dr. Lawson and his fabulous team where I evaluate my progress and they record trends of what has been working. There were times I ground through my appliances but Dr. Lawson has always assured me he can fix it… And he has at no cost. His team also custom made an appliance to suit my needs, as they recognize every jaw and scenario is different. I am very impressed by the lengths the team at his office go to in order to help a patient.
I love how I see Pauline every time I go, because she knows what I have been through and the steps she and Dr. Lawson have taken to help me. The receptionists are very friendly and accommodating.
I am still surprised to think that I considered such an invasive surgery with a long recovery time before searching for a practice like Dr. Lawson’s. Nothing has been invasive and I have never had any “recovery time” or experienced pain with his appliances.
I would highly recommend Dr. Steve Lawson and his staff to anyone considering treatment for TMJ or sleep apnea. He truly cares about and invests in his patients. The treatment is easy… The staff are friendly… The results have been life changing. I cannot thank him enough.