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Anonymous
Alright, bit of a long story.
Eight years ago, due to a nervous habit of shifting my jaw, I developed a slight underbite. Unfortunately, as I was young and still growing, it continued to get worse.
Eventually I was in so much constant pain, that it was time to go to the orthodontist. Unfortunately, it seemed the surgery I needed, was technically considered cosmetic, and thus not covered by the government (Canada), despite the orthodontist appealing numerous times.
Over time, I just grew to live with it through tylenol, biting methods, biting down on things to relieve tension, stuff like that. It negatively affected my life, though. I no longer had a smile, eating was a challenge, my speech sometime slurred, and of course, the pain.
This month, everything changed, though. It got far worse than ever before. I'm in so much pain now that the only way I can even function through my day, is through percocet, a post-surgery level pain killer.
Day before yesterday, something odd happened. Suddenly, the left side of my bottom lip went totally numb. It kind of freaked me out, so I went to the ER. They thought I had a stroke. After five hours of waiting for a doctor (It was busy as hell), he tells me I didn't have a stroke, and appear fine. Since a line along my chin is now extremely sensitive to touch, he concluded I damaged a nerve and sent me on my way.
Now, I have two questions. Firstly, he didn't tell me how long I should expect this numbness to last. It's been two days and the left side of my lip is still numb. Anyone know about nerve damage, lip numbness or anything like that?
Secondly, I cannot live with this jaw pain anymore, so I've decided I'm going to write up a letter, detailing my situation, and include photographs. Then email them to every orthodontist in the area, in hopes of someone managing to find a way to help me. Any other people I should mail as well? Organizations or something like that?
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