Hi.  Last April, as I was taking a bite out of an apple, I felt a sharp
pain of the left side of my jaw, accompanied with a terrible crunching
sound.  X-rays showed that I had dislocated it and that it was due to
osteoarthritis.  My family doctor sent me to an oral maxillofacial
surgeon who suggested that I stay away from surgery at this point and
to try conventional methods of correcting my bite.  I went to see my
dentist and claimed that it was a matter of correcting my bite.  His
method first involved getting a special dental CAT scan (resulting in
sharp digital images).  After that I would get 1 hour TENS treatment on
my mouth area to relax my muscles.  He would then take impressions of
my relaxed bite.  From there he would make calculations, using the
digital CAT scan images and my bite impressions, to customize a
temporary orthotic that would be placed on my teeth.  The orthotic is
to selectively increase the lengths of my various teeth, as necessary,
in order to re-align the left jaw joint, ie. to correct my bite.  This
orthotic (or a series of) is to be used till my pain or discomfort
ceases.  At that point, another CAT scan will be performed to ensure
that the joint is indeed in a proper spot.  If all is well, a permanent
method of imitating the orthotic will be attempted.  That method is the
"crowning" of all teeth whose lengths required correction via the
orthotic.  Days after this consultation visit, I had an MRI done and it
revealed one more obstacle:  the miniscus (disk) was pushed out
anteriorly.  Does this pose a problem to the above suggested treatment?
This dentist showed me his portfolio and apparently he has done this
type of correction before, however, I'm not sure that in those cases,
the miniscus was anteriorly displaced.  Also, the results of the CAT
scan haven't come back yet, but I'm sure it's going to say the same as
the X-ray and MRI.  This method is going to cost a lot of money, like
possibly $30,000.00 CDN because of all the crowning being done, which I
would gladly pay if this method is sound.  Has anyone heard of this
treatment or the likes of it?  Anyone with any other suggestion or
direction?  I'm not for surgery at this time or do I have a choice?