Where in the world were his assistants? And who in their right mind wouldn’t come forward about this?!?

It is unbelievable that anyone could stand in front of a jury and make that argument. If I were a member of the jury, I’d vote guilty just because he hired such an idiot for a lawyer. How stupid does he think those 12 people are? I wonder how many males he preformed this “medical treatment” on? Just when you thought you’d heard everything, here comes Mark Anderson and his dim wit attorney Michael Rothschild.

What a crock! A medical professional fondles women’s breasts and says it’s a “medical treatment”. How stupid are these California women? The women should have known this guy wasn’t “treating” them for anything! Wake up Ladies! If a medical professional touched/groped/fondled me, I’d punch the guy right in the nose and make sure he was unable to produce children!

I am a general dentist in Pa. and have been practicing for almost 16 years and I know of no known treatment of TMD that includes touching a patients chest. This guy is toast! I hope he loses his license! He should buy a lap dance!

This is interesting but how is it that 19 women never spoke up?! It seems our population is growing dumber by the day.

Dr. Manny, your comment about having a chaperone in the room for all physical exams is a great idea, but I believe this would be PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE for small medical practices to do this. I am a doctor in a two-physician practice, so we are essentially a small business. If you are a doctor doing an exam for upper respiratory symptoms– looking in the nose, mouth, ears, palpating neck lymph nodes, listening to the lungs, then having a chaperone should not be necessary. It would be GREAT if a chaperone could be present for all physical exams such as these; but, for small business-owners, it would be exceedingly expensive to have to hire another employee for the sole purpose of standing chaperoning routine limited physical exams that do not involve abdominal exam or breast exams. Labor is the most expensive cost for doctors, and hiring another employee to be a chaperone involves not only another hourly wage cost, but also health insurance for that employee. In summary, I fully agree that it would be ideal to have a chaperone for all physical exams, but this would be really expensive to have to add one or multiple employees to chaperone limited physical exams.

How many men required this same treatment?

I think one word says it all…”Dentist” …there is only one area that a dentist should even be close to and that is my mouth. People in the law profession often wonder why they are mocked and made comedic fodder of..this story is the poster child for their insult.

About having a chaperone…no way! I am sorry, but I am a little shy if someone else is present. I cannot speak directly to the physician, because the other person has NO business knowing my business. It’s called doctor-patient priviledge – not doctor/chaperone/patient information. See, the chaperone in the middle? No thank you!

there are docs that take advantage of young and naive women to be sure. I remember being 16 and having my first gyn exam. I was alone in the room with the doc. I remember my mom offering to go in, but I was too embarassed to have her. I should have. As the doc was doing his exam, and as he had his hand in my, well you know where, he used his other hand to insert his finger into my rectum. I had no idea this was not a “normal” part of an exam. I have since learned it isn’t. When I was 19, I was again alone with a doc, during a routine phys. for a job. He insisted I had to lift my top completely up past my breasts, in order to listen to my heart. Again, I was young and naive. When one of my college friends went to the gyn at our university for birth control, she was understandably nervous. His reply to her, “boy, for someone who wants bc so bad, you sure are slow to open your legs.”

The condition referred to by the pervert and his lawyer-TMD-has nothing to do with the breast, but refers to a condition of the jaw and face.

Hey Ken– your comment “there is only one area that a dentist should even be close to and that is my mouth” is hilarious! You’d better hope he doesn’t put his instrument in it!

Dr. David said:
———-
“…having a chaperone in the room for all physical exams is a great idea, but I believe this would be PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE for small medical practices…”
———-
Who said chaperones have to be medical staff? What about the patient providing their own “chaperone”? That’s what my wife does. If it’s not me, she has a few friends she can count on that will attend with her for most of her exams.

Most dentist will not perform any service that will not be paid by the patient’s insurance plan or personal. In fact, if any coverage that is in question, the dentist usually waits for insurance authorization. I wonder if he got any payments from the insurance plans for the “chest” treatment. I guess this dentist is in a habit of receiving payments that he wouldn’t think for a moment to “pay” for a lap dance.

Maybe the therapy was intended for the dentist, not the patient!

Just to respond to Dr. David’s comment, with all due respect I can not think of one reason why a dentist should perform any type of medical treatment other than the mouth (teeth and gum).
If any other physical examination is required the patient should be referred to his/her PCP.
In most States it is a requirement that when conducting a physical examination of a female a nurse is present when the doctor examines her. If the office can not provide this type of assistance it should be avoided unless you as a physician does not mind spending most of your time in court defending yourself against any accusations.
Choices and options are pretty much straight forward in these matters.

Please remember, this is a California jury we’re talking about…the same kind of jury that acquitted OJ and Robert Blake. I’d say he has a 50/50 chance.

Remember, we’re talking about a California jury, the same kind that acquitted OJ and Robert Blake. I’d say his chances are 50/50…

What Gulliable women!!Come on Seriously was these women looking to sue or something???A “Dentist” going to treat a woman by massaging her breast??He was a Dentist not a Doctor!!!What was these women doing complaining about their chest to this guy anyways??What kind of person Goes to a Dentist and he looks and them and says i need to massage ur breast to treat you???It’s Laughable but in a bad way….These women ought not to get one dime in compensation for being so ignornant unless these ladies was drawing a Check for being Mentally Retarded or deemed that by a Independent psychologist….Cause quite frankly i wonder if they did it for pleasure,or greed and decided to sue….Watch these chicks go for the money most likely…How Pathethic…

In the most detailed dental exam, the lowest any dentist would go is the neck line. People that think dentistry is only limited to the teeth and gums are stupid. You shouldn’t talk if you don’t know what you are talking about. A good dentist will give a comprehensive exam and that includes palpating the neck and face muscles. He shouldn’t have gone lower than that even if it was his wife. Save that for your home, vacation or when the office is closed!

Chaperones is a great idea, and if not provided by the Dr. maybe you should think about bringing along a family member or a very close friend. If nothing else for a second set of ears… Sometimes I get confused and need a second set of ears. Someone you bring with you can help you figure out what the Dr. is telling you… What to look out for, and if its news you really don’t want to hear, and you bring someone else with you, they can hear for you…

Ive had many years experience in the massagment of the female breast…ya think I could get a license and start a professional practice..?? Only in America…!!!

( * ) ( * )

I have had bad experiences with Dentists AND Doctors. When I was 19 and having bad stomach cramps, I had an emergency room doctor pressure me to let me take out my “calcified pancreas”. When I demanded a second opinion he told me we didn’t have time, that I could die! Feeling immortal as most 19 year old do … I mustered everything I had, signed the release, and checked myself out … drove myself across town to my regular doctor’s E.R. and checked myself in. Turns out I was totally misdiagnosed by the first doctor, and at 54 I’m happy to say I still have my pancreas … all I had was an extreme case of intestinal gas. And what the first doctor saw as calcification was just undissolved vitamins I’d taken after dinner … specifically the calcium tablets.

But more important to this story … there is the 1% rule. It doesn’t matter what the profession is, there’s always going to be at least 1% who are ‘whacked’, 1% who are incompetent, 1% who just don’t care and/or are in it for the money. In the 1960s .. there were about 300,000 physicians (or about 3000 in the 1%) … now there are close to a million (or 10,000 in the 1%).

You can just expect that number to continue to grow exponentially as Licensing Agencies and Government Agencies do whatever they can to try to meet the Doctor shortfall the country is experiencing. I fear it will no longer be a 1% rule, it will be a 10% rule.

[...] Apparently Dr. Manny tends to agree with me that this is no therapy. [...]

Great. Now the bureaucracy has another scapegoat
to legitimize the misadventures of marxist healthcare
in amerika.
It would be better to finish the nationalizing process
of amerikan medicine, so that no one will go without
basic healthcare (at nominal cost if necessary).
Only the latter can restore competition and ethics
to your bankrupt state and country.

One woman claims that the dentist groped her six times. Hmm?

Yeah, I’m not sure why you’d think of an office having a chaperone on call – most of my doctors will offer to let my husband/family member come along if it makes me feel better about it. This is why patients should speak up. Ask the doctor if they have any problem allowing family to come with you, if you consent to their possibly hearing sensitive information. If they don’t agree, you’re probably better off with a different doctor.

As an aside, a good reason why to NOT switch to “universal healthcare”! Your chaperones would have to be approved by someone much higher up than the physician themselves, and what’s the likely-hood of that?

I’m a dentist and still trying to figure this out. The mouth bone is connected to the body bone. I think that the dentist is working with a different bone in mind. whtat do you think. It’s a black eye for our profession and it affects us all. Take his ability to practice and let him work on some inmates with TMJ. Or have them work on him..

I knew I was on the wrong profession, getting to rub on women and then saying it’s treatment. If that is the case, I have been in practice for a very long time. I will be expecting pay (at a dentist’s rate) for anyone I helped, I knew I had more money coming to me from somewhere. I will be opening my own practice soon, and will have a 2 for 1 offer going. I can’t fix teeth but I can rub breasts like they have magic genies in them.

Dude, just admit your’e a pervert. You might get a lesser sentence for confession. Your’e pathetic excuse will only make it worse for you.

Isn’t it about time that lawyers who defend these “medical” clients and their absurd actions are also reprimanded either by being disbarred or penalized in some manner. Their clients are so blantantly guilty……………………………what a waste of taxpayers money! Throw the bums in jail, disbar the lawyer and compensate the victim!!!

To BWL – You must be joking. You can’t survive without your pancreas – period. Can’t help but wonder if he was even a doctor at all.

Had this happened to me I would have reached into my purse, grabbed my cell phone and called the police. If I had no cell phone I would have screamed for help and then had them call the police. There is a good chance he would have found my knee firmly in his groin as well.

It is ridicules that any woman, young or old, would sit there while their dentist groped their breasts.

I hope the dentist loses his license but I feel that the woman that kept silent as long as they did have some explaining to do.

Strange– I suffer from TMJ and I never see a dentist for treatment–I have a chiropractor who massages my neck and my shoulders, but never touches my breasts. (he’s cute, so maybe I should complain that he isn’t?) In fact, anyone who wanted to look up the human anatomy can clearly see that the pectoral muscles are no where near connected to the muscles that are affected in TMJ.
Mark Anderson must think everyone is stupid.

I provided the same service to women at our local county fair. I told them by messaging them, I could guess their weight. If I couldn’t, they’d win a key chain

I had a family doctor that made me strip down everytime I went. My husband found out and we change doctors. My husband hated to do that, because he was the best Optometrist we ever had.

Dr. Manny

As a dentist who treats a lot of TMD, I have this comment – there is no portion of the chest below the clavicals involved in the treatment of tmd. However, manipulation of the spine and the muscles of the upper back and shoulders are definitely within the scope of treatment ( the muscles of the alert feeding position ). And massage without ice/heat therapy is of lower value other than diagnostic. These muscles are examined because of potential referred pain according to Dr. Travels seminal work “myofascial pain and dysfunction – the trigger point manual”.

This Dr. should be prosecuted for the abuse and violation of the Dr/Patient trust that the rest of us ( doctors and patients ) will now to live with.

Henry A Long. Jr. MSME, DDS

I know if it was my wife he was fondling for his jolly’s He would be the one in need of a dentist appointment. I’d meet him in the parking lot leaving his office and make sure he was missing a few of his teeth shortly afterwards. I’t wouldn’t be above me to take care of this in an out of court settlement. What an insignificant piece of crap this human turd is….

I imagine there are other women who required this “treatment” for TMJ and will come forward. Dr. Manny is correct. Anytime I approach any patient I ask them for permission to place my hands on them. I tell them exactly what I am doing and why. If the area of chief complaint is a specially anatomically sensitive one, regardless of the sex of the patient, as assistant is in the room. I could care less about the cost of the assistant.

I know of no other place that I feel more uncomfortable and helpless than in a dentist chair. It is pretty hard to react when you might have your mouth open and an instrument hanging out of it. I do agree this doc should be disbarred and the patients “taken care of” financially. He was taking liberties when he had them at their most vunerable. What a shame.

This is absolutely uncalled for ! Why is this even an issue ? At Mc Larty DDS, this will not happen ! Guaranteed …

Response to Lee’s comment posted at 12:06 PM: Lee, you are right, if the PATIENT feels more comfortable with a family member in the room during the exam, then a physician should have no problem with that. But, many single women don’t have family members or friends accompanying them, and a physician would still have to hire one or multiple employees to act as chaperones for patient’s who come alone. Requiring a chaperone to stand in the room while I examine a woman’s nose and ears is would be quite expensive. If the American Association for Justice (the national Trial Lawyers’ group) could pay for chaperones in doctors’ offices, that would be fantastic.

Response to Ed Blokdijk’s comment posted at 12:20 PM: Ed, you are right, dentists should not be treating diseases below the jaw. You are right that it is a good idea to have a chaperone present when examining a female. But, it should only be mandatory when doing a breast or genital/rectal exam, and it is a good idea to have a chaperone for abdominal exams. But, I am not aware of any state in the country having a law requiring chaperones for ALL PHYSICAL EXAMS, such as exams limited to the nose, ears, and throat. I just finished five years of post-graduate medical training in three different states, and not one of my physician professors, clinic directors, nurses, or hospital legal counselors ever mentioned a law requiring chaperones for ALL physical exams. If such a law exists, please post the link.

Our family doctor uses a female assistant (just his receptionist) when treating my wife for breast exams or pelvic exams. He leaves the room and asks my wife to disrobe and cover herself with those blue paper drapes. I help with that.

Then I leave the room. There are some things I just don’t want to witness, and I don’t want my wife embarrassed by my watching such exams. Maybe I’m old-school, but everyone deserves dignity.

I know that dentists are disturbed by this story. I hope that people don’t put all of them in the same bag.

I don’t know what this man’s story is because I was obviously not there. I can tell you however, that massage of the face, head, neck and chest IS an effective part of TMJ therapy. I have severe TMJ and dysphagia, and under the advice of a neurologist and oral surgeon, have received this massage therapy weekly for years. I am female and it is administered by a female, of course. She is a massage therapist specializing in neuromuscular therapy and tells me she only performs this on regular long-term clients for obivous reasons. There must be an established relationship of trust and open communciation, where the patient knows what is being done and why, and understands massage therapy. The muscles and connective tissues in the face, neck, throat and chest become hard and grainy, and very sore, under the constant strain of a chronic condition. The tissues on my collar bone and along the middle of my chest, where the muscles attach to the bone are terribly painful and contracted at times to the point that I have trouble talking, opening my mouth and breathing. It often extends into the muscles behind the breasts and the underarm area. This therapy has changed the quality of my life for the better, and without medication. It’s been a lifesaver for me. I would obviously think in this particular case there is a lack of communication and good judgement (not having an assistant present) at best, and abuse of the physicians’s position at worst. I truly hope the latter is not the case.

Dr. David- sometimes common sense is more important thatn any law. Why would you need a lw to tell you that it is a very good idea to have a chaperone in the examination room when you are touching another person’s (your patient’s) body, even if it is just the nose and ears and mouth. Why not protect yourself from a potential lawsuit and allow anothe person in the room when you are touching (examining) a patient. It’s for your own benefit.

Dr. David- why do you need a law to tell you to do what isw common sense. If you are touching (examining) a patient does it not make sense to have another prson present to avoid any misunderstanding and to preotect yourself from being sued? Common sense is often much more important in our day and age than laws- it’s for your own benefit and protection. So stop asking for a link to sucha law, just do the right smart thing- allow and encourage chaperones in the examination room when you place your hands on any part of a patient’s body, even if it is only the face. If they haven’t taught you that in medical school, they really should.

Comment by Dr. David
February 25th, 2009 at 11:17 am

So, you don’t believe that dental assistants or medical assistants can be in the room with a doctor when he’s seeing a patient? I was treated for over 3 years by an orthodontist for TMD, and he performed all of my treatments in an open room with a couple of assistants milling around and treating other patients. Reduced his liability, made it easier for him to have a larger patient load.

BTW, my TMD was treated with the aid of appliances to widen my jaw. The most touched I ever was happened when he accidentally brushed my cheek while inserting or removing my dental appliances. Dude was an absolute perv, and he deserves time in jail. Let some burly guy named Killer fondle *him*, see how he likes it.

Not all women are “gullible,” “naive,” or “dumb.” Under such circumstances, I would suspect the words they would have used were “embarassed,” “frightened,” or “confused.” Maybe even “scared.”

A patient trusts their dentist to take care of their teeth. The “treatment” this dentist was using for TMJ (aka ‘teeth-grinding disorder’) is definitely no treatment I’ve ever heard of!

Than you, Dr. Manny for having the decency to speak up and expose this creep. There are too many “silent voices” out there that use the excuses “I don’t want to get involved” or “it would hurt my reputation”. You have guts, Sir, and I appreciate it!

I just cant believe someone would be so stupid as to present that argument as a defense.I think both the doctor and lawyer should be hit in the head with a tack hammer.

I ditto Dr. Gary’s comment, an assistant is always in the room when I examine a patient (male or female), if one is not available for a few minutes, the exam is delayed until she can be there.

To Dartt’s comment – this really does bother all health care providers, especially dentists. Besides a spouse, women let very few people as close to them as their dentist and gynecologist. It is a relationship that is a sacred trust between doctor and patient. It is therefore, the clinician’s responsibility to behave in the most professional and caring manner possible. All patients, particularly women are at their most vulnerable in both knowledge and physically with these caregivers.

If the accusations are true, the women in this case may now not seek appropriate dental care in a timely manner and suffer future unnecessary discomfort and tooth loss because of fear.

Dr. Long

All of you have convicted this man already. The press has made this man out to be some pervert. First, the allegations came from only one patient. The local news here in Woodland asked for any other complaints. That’s when these other people came forward. The ONLY complaint of brushing against breasts OUTSIDE the shirt was from one person. Due to the close proximity of the face to some women’s breast while inclined is close enough to brush accidentally. Remember she came forward only after a request for more potential victims. Dr Anderson has never admitted to fondling breasts. Nor are there any allegations of such. Skin to skin contact can happen with many dental procedures. Remember folks, Innocent until proven guilty.

Hey Michael P,

I seem to remember a California jury buying a more ridiculous argument. Forget all the forensic evidence, if it doesn’t fit… sound familiar?

2-25-09
You spoke of cancer of the breast for women if they drink wine. I believe it is nothing to do with grapes or wine made from grapes, it is the sulfides they now put into the wine for the color to not change and shelf life. I could drink wine until they added sulfates, now I get sick if I drink wine. We live in wine country in Oregon, and I love wine, but can not drink it. The same is true with bread and any pastry or soups and most processed foods that have so many thing in them , like MSG,that I feel causes cancer.Campbell’s now has a soup that I can eat, Campbell’s Select Harvest. If all would stop putting what I feel is cancer causing things into food, more people would not get cancer. I swell, turn red, itch, and just feel so sick if i eat anything I have mentioned.
Sincerely, Yvonne Morey

Everybody:

1 – I am a weird person: a heterosexual, monogamous, ethical, moral, law-abiding physician.
2 – I HATE spending money on wasting my staff’s time using females on the staff as chaperones, however,
3 – I also work under two “modern” and pessimistic operatives:

A) “don’t say or do ANYTHING in the exam room that you would not want video-cammed instantly and continuously on the internet and

B) I am not a pervert and I am not crazy. I do NOT know that the PATIENT is not crazy – The chaperone is not in the room to protect the patient; the chaperone is in the room to protect ME ME ME ME ME!!!!!!!

Susie,

That was funny! The optometrist comment had me laughing out loud!

I have to agree with a few of the previous comments up here. What woman would not stop the DR. right then and there? But what is going through the Dr’s mind to think he could get away with doing that to not one but 19 pts??? havign worked in the medical field,i am absolutely in shock. the only time I’ve every seen a Dr. touch a pt’s chest was during a gyn exam or if they complained of breast pain. Why the hell would a dentist ever think he could get away with fndling a woman during a DENTAL exam?

lmc:

Check out Dr. Spock – there’s a great article about teens and pelvic exams: http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6095,00.html

If you were still a virgin at the time, your doc could have done the rectal because of that. I don’t think he took liberties with you at the time. However, that is not to say he couldn’t have explained it better to you before going ahead. My first pelvic included a rectal exam, and I was a virgin at the time.

My dentist has a dental assistant who assist during my visits and always has
My doctor also has a nurse who is present during exams
It has always been this way and I am 49 years old

If you filled the juror box with Massage Therapist the man would so go down hard…. If Dr. feelly was so interested in his patients tempormandibular disorders, why didn’t he hire a licensed
massage therapist. Any successful dentist I’ve ever known has been way to busy to administer any massage techniques even it they were appropriate techniques. The Doctor is a creep their is no excuse for this. I have practiced massage therapy for a number of years and specialize in trigger point therapy and never would I have used the breast as a origination point to release the jaw. Pushing or rubbing the fatty tissue on the breast is really pointless theraputic wise unless you were doing a type of lymph therapy. And at the worst if I am completely wrong and their are gobs of trigger points in the fatty tissue of the breast, their are still serveral trigger realeases for the jaw in the torso of the body such as the neck, the arm the jaw itself and you can go inside the mouth even work from inside out which takes special training but is very effective.

What a black mark this man is to the entire American medical community – even if he is just a dentist. The old saying about one bad appled makes the entire bunch “stink” is so very appropriate.

I’ve so enjoyed reading so many of the comments – I can’t believe one of those patients didn’t get up; and either scratch this idiots eyeballs totally out, or slap him clear across the room – chaperones or not. What a moron; and the 1% rule very much applies – we have lots of those morons around these days. But as my Poppy used to say – every dog has his day and I thank God I’m just me every day.

I don’t know how things work over on the left coast, but that type of therapy doesn’t work here in Kentucky and it would have only one beneficiary, and it’s wouldn’t be the patient. It does probably make the patient forget about their jaw pain for a moment or two, it certainly would distract me, that is if he treats his male joint patients the same way he gives “therapy” to his female patients. I also wonder if he age discriminates with his therapies too! I also wonder what the insurance coding would be on a procedure like that? OK, I’ll take my tongue out of my cheek ang get my fingers back into somebody else’s mouth!

Good lesson concerning evidence based medicine. So many herbal, “natural treatments”, massages, aroma therapy, chiropractic care have no grounding in science and have no firm evidence to support their use. But…they are multibillion dollar industries as a whole. If we as population fall for those “treatments” how is this any different. It seems that common since only applies to treatments involving breasts, as everyone seems to be able to smell the BS here. Tell the rest of those charlatans to take a hike too.

Don’t kid yourself, the chaperone is to protect the doctor. I would never allow someone to bring their own as the only chaperone. What protection does that offer me? How many opinions are needed? Then it turns into my 3 chaperones saw this against your 2 chaperones. I would only feel OK if I had the majority.

This man tied me down in the chair 25 years ago after every one had left and raped me! Maybe if I had reported it then he wouldnt have done it to these women. I’m sorry i was 19 and to afraid to say anything. I have been afraid to go to dentist ever since and have now lost most of my teath because of it. I hope he gets life.

I think the idea of a chaperon is an excellent idea. I have a male physician and he always has a female assistant in the room during exams. Yeah, labor is expensive, but lawsuits are more expensive. It only takes one patient to claim she was touched inappropriately then it’s her word against his. Maybe this is the beginning of a new job classification…Physician’s Chaperon? Hey, President Obama…here’s a way to boost our jobs problem!!

Bunch of nonsense. What’s the deal? Not worth a penny of the wasted taxpayers money for prosecution. Naturally somewhat odd, but I understand patients did not mind and even went not once to the dentist. I think one person complained after thinking a while and then police found 12 more who admitted to received the massage treatment.

This is why I check everyone my wife sees. I don’t trust anyone including doctors. I also have my wife request a female at all times. I am leaning on going with her each time and verifying there practice licence. The planet that we live in we just about have to be over protective for sum like this. I would love to get my hands on this so called dentist.

This perv gives a bad name to all dentists. I would like to know, by name , the “expert Doctors/Dentists” who has testified for this “specialist in TMJ”. They need to have thier credentials checked. I heard they testified that feeling the chest is part of treatment. Where did they learn this?

This is going to start a craze of women wanting this king of therapy. To bad the dentist did not tell them he would be doing some new unproven therapy and get consent forms. On the other hand, well on both hands, usually guys have to pay for this stuff.

The symptoms of a TMJ Dysfunction are varied and may seem unrelated. Often, the patient is referred to ear, nose and throat orthopedic specialists or neurologists, with results being consistently negative.

TMJ SYNDROME develops when the jaws, imbalanced, are aggravated by stress related or poor postural habits. The muscle supporting the jaw soon strains to return to its natural position.

REFERRED PAIN
We now know that the muscles of the face, jaw, neck and shoulders can “refer” pain to the head in the form of a headache when they are in spasm.

The vascular circulation of these muscles is often limited because of their tautness. Where circulation is poorest, metabolic waste products build up and form trigger points in the tissues. Trigger points can refer pain anywhere in the body.

After a period of time, this additional strain makes the already tense muscles go into spasm. The whole system breaks down and the jaw just wants to rest. Other parts of the body may tense up in response. Before long, a chain reaction of stress and muscle spasm can be distributed throughout the body.

I know to find the pain but look elsewhere for the cause. Bodywork works, but most Drs no nothing about it or want surgery, big mistake when it could be just active trigger point(s). I do not condone this dentist doing what he did unless he explained it in detail beforehand. Left untreated TMD can also lead to vertigo, nausea, and balance problems. Check out unwinding and mofascial tp therapy.

Wow! I am amazed at how little people know about this case but are willing to crucify the dentist. First off, look at the charges…each one requires that the prosecution prove that he performed these acts with the intent of sexual gratification or arousal. How do you prove that? Expecially if the dentist never made any other approaches. Second, if you’ve ever been to this dentist’s office, you would see that there are no doors on any room. His assistants (all female if I am correct) were either constantly in the room or passing by. Third, this isn’t an issue of TMJ, it’s an issue of TMD (Temporal Mandibular Disorder) which can be bone or muscle related. TMJ and TMD are often used synonimously, and yes, TMD relief involves massaging the head, neck, shoulders and upper chest muscles. The methods for administering relief are not “experimental” or “untested”. Physical therapists use them all the time. And guess what?!! This dentist’s brother is a Physical therapist!

I can’t say if he is guilty or not of the charges (remember sexual gratification or arousal), but having a wife that is a Certified Massage Therapist and having been personally involved in various “un-orthodox” / Eastern treatments for my Sciatica (which is completely healed thanks to accupunture and massage and not surgery or drugs), I’d like to withhold judgement until the verdict is out. I’m more inclined to think that this dentist is naive and from a liability standpoint, a bit dumb, but not guilty.