Dr. Eugene L Dellinger

Looking back: Now, wiser & more informed...(thanks to information access of the internet) It is a now a well-known fact that your teeth are directly correleted by way of nerves, etc. to meridians in the body directly affecting vital organs, one's immune system, etc. in addition to one's overall health, had I known or been informed of this at the time when I had sought to 'correct' my bite, tooth alignment ~ I would likely not accepted the type of suggestions that seemed to be prevailant but not necessarily the views of the entire dental profession at that time... Having followed the direction & full recommendations of Dr. Gene Dellinger in attempting to correct TMJ/Migraine issues & a somewhat 'open' bite... I was told I needed to have 8 teeth extracted...that I did not have 'room' in my mouth for them all & in order to close my bite & align the teeth De. Dellinger's only recommendation was this procedure...which apparently & in retorspect, was merely the quickest & easiest way (at… that time & was not at all the least painful nor inexpensive adding the cost of an oral surgeon & all that went with the extraction process of that many teeth & having braces slapped on them & 'move them by torqing them from their 'natural' positions, I might add...) to move teeth (& yet, charge alot of $) & make the job of 'appearing' to correct my dental issues...& as it turns out...I was just left with less teeth & too much space in between my teeth, causing more stress from eating to be place on the remaining molars which has been detrimental to the long-term effects this has had on my dental health. Not to mention, the assembly-line layout of the office & a number of newly or 'in-training' & inexperienced assistance that, in my case caused damage in fracturing teeth & the chipping of a front tooth as a result, to which Dr. Dellinger refused to address & due to a wire/sharp edge protruding through my retainer...he would also not address, leaving me with no way to keep my teeth in place after placing my trust in his experience, advice & treatment plan ~ not to mention a whole lot of time & money at that point...so, accordingly, I refused to pay the last $200 on my bill, as I had to then seek repairing the worst one & the others have continued to crack as I've aged (now 54, was 27 at the time...) I sincerely wish I could put back the teeth that were removed...but, now have more dental damage from the issues that were only made worse from removing too many teeth... I understand that this method is not used as widely now...& I know good & well, why... But, having sacrificed my dental health for this methodology, so poplar at the time...is of no consolation now... If good dental care is not a major factor in one's overall health, I will eat my words...but, apparently there is no concern in the most recent healthcare laws, etc. to address even the mention of the correlation...though, here in this country we are at epidemic levels, of people who cannot afford even minimal dental procedures ~ as the cost has skyrocketed to a phenominal rate ~ assuming, I suppose, that nearly everyone has some kind of dental insurance...which is another huge 'myth'... I honestly don't know how to afford to keep the teeth I have from detriorating beyond losing them with so much & what the average dentist charges to repair badly damaged teeth... Even with the use a mouth guard, I am still placing too much stress on my teeth... I am wondering if I had not gone this route, that I might not have been subject to the rapid deteriation from normal chewing since that time & increasingly so, the past few years... I am at loss at how to afford to restore these teeth that I have left to chew on ~ have spent over $3,000 on 2 teeth & have 4 more to address as of yet & it would appear the nightmare is not over yet. How does one afford to save teeth, when this kind of apparently irreversible procedure has been performed & the cost is so phenominal once damage of this nature has occured??? Even though I strongly questioned this 'view' of removing so many teeth & inquired as to only removing the wisdom teeth (which, I was not having any problems with either) & as it was also required under Dr. Dellinger's care & insistance to remove the 4 teeth behind the 'eye' teeth as well, as I raised obvious concerns & suggested that there would be an awful lot of room left & turns out I was right, though I was reassured, it was the thing to do to make them line-up properly...it did not turn out to be the 'best' method afterall... The reason I was concerned & undertaking these procedures were to improve my dental health, chewing & bite issue, & obviously in efforts to keep my natural teeth throughout the duration of my life & hopefully minimize or eliminate further issues due to my 'open bite'...instead it was only a temporary fix, I ended up with damaged teeth in the removal of the 'glued-on' braces in the manner & inexperience in 'snapping' them off the teeth by applying alot of pressure...& not even an appology... I would highly recommend 3 or 4 opinions before settling on any 'particular method' or which professional to be pursued in maintaining or trying to improve one's dental health...you will be glad you did years down the road. (As a side note: I also obtained another opinion & the suggestion was the same...but, I think due to what the longterm studies & findings have been in what is experienced by many who have undergone this particular method of removing so many teeth ~ it is not as 'popular' with today's 'practices' as it once was ~ thank goodness~!) These are merely my personal opinions & experiences as a summary of what I've undergone & unfortunately for me it has not been as positive & productive as I had honestly hoped & instead of improving my dental health, has only served to create more problems &