Ten years of facial and jaw pain after a denture

Perhaps my story, which I would like to tell, can help other people.

About 10 years ago, something began for me that could rightly be called a story of suffering. The fitting and use of my first partial denture triggered it. Immediately after the denture was fitted, I felt increasingly worse – headaches, jaw joint pain, swallowing disorders, burning tongue, air swallowing, dizziness, pain throughout my shoulders and back. At a dental check-up it was then found that my bite was supposedly not right. The denture was altered, and after some time the problems did ease somewhat, but they continued to burden me considerably.

A few months later I moved house and, because it was closer, also changed dentist. He in turn diagnosed once again that my denture did not fit properly and that the old one had to be replaced with a completely new construction. He attributed the constant pain to the need for this measure. So the old denture was replaced with a new one. After that, however, the pain became considerably worse.

Once again, examinations began with various specialists and therapists. No possible causes were found, and so psychiatric treatment was even recommended. A visit to yet another dentist once more produced the diagnosis that my bite was not right. He began treating me with occlusal splints and also sent me for physiotherapy. The therapies had no effect. After another year, the same dentist decided to build up my teeth in order to change the bite for the long term. As a result, my pain became massively worse still. During physiotherapy I had the impression that a feeling of relaxation sometimes set in immediately after the treatment, but a few hours later the pain built up again just as massively.

After every occlusal splint therapy I felt worse. I had the feeling that my body could not accept the splint. In addition to headaches, swallowing disorders, facial pain, shoulder and neck pain, I also developed gastritis. It could not be treated effectively even with a proton pump inhibitor (a “-prazole” medication).

I became more and more convinced that my dentist at the time was doing something wrong, and changed dentist yet again. […] That is how I came to Dr. Klaus and Sabine Berndsen (ISST Unna) in Unna.

From the very beginning I had the impression that connections were being recognised here that nobody had considered before. First my tongue tie was released surgically, and then comprehensive functional treatment was started. Before that, my tongue had had practically no range of movement and the area around my hyoid bone was always swollen. After just a few treatment sessions this and many of the other complaints had disappeared. Even the pain in my upper chest could no longer be felt. Previously, because of my swallowing disorder, I had also constantly swallowed too much air. Apparently the stomach problems, which no “-prazole” medication helped with either, were the result. Gradually these distressing complaints, like all the other problems, had almost resolved as well.

After about 4 months of treatment I am doing well and am now in the stabilisation phase of the treatment. Every therapy session is a gain for me. Occlusal splints had always made my state of health worse, and today I would no longer agree to them.

Thanks to the therapy methods developed by Dr. Klaus and Sabine Berndsen, above all FaceFormer therapy, I kept feeling better and better, and I am glad that after so many years of despair I have finally found the right practitioners for me.

Marlies B., Herne, 30.10.2013