Hello,
I'm sorry to…read moremake this review of a doctor at this establishment, and honestly, the office as a whole at this point. I came here in early 2019, and later in this last year, the service done here caused me further injury. For some background, I received a full mouth rehabilitation in another country, Istanbul, and it went sour. The way my row of teeth was positioned caused TMJ symptoms and strained muscles. I didn't trust them to go back to them to fix it, hell, as of six months later, they had erased my info anyway.
When I visited Balcones Family Dental in October 2024, I had already gotten four teeth replaced from my full mouth rehab and one root canal, and was showing slight TMJ symptoms. When Christopher Glecos agreed to work on me, he offered an occlusal equilibration to straighten my bite. I should have vetted harder, because I had no idea he was then taking online classes for the thing I was asking for. At the time, my mouth has already been through a lot, and the process of strengthening my bite required more professional diligence than what I received.
Doctor Glecos wanted to start fresh and not look at any of my background on the matter. I did give my info anyway, a told him I was going to see a chiropractor for my TMJ. At the time, I thought it would be enough, but I was wrong. Knowing now, I needed Physical Therapy and a specialist trained in TMJ symptoms. Even with all the background I gave him, he was still willing to do the occlusal equilibration even though his experience was green in the matter, and if he had thought otherwise, I'd have been referred to someone else. There's no way one would take on a complicated situation as mine if one was still only taking online classes for it...
I explained that my goals were to address bite instability by identifying problem areas and finding a good course of action. For me, this meant combing through the teeth and seeing which ones were hitting harder and by how much, and then considering new crowns for those problem areas. Dr. Glecos described using 'slits of paper' to relax the bite and then find out where in the mouth my teeth were misaligned or hitting first. At no time did we discuss making irreversible adjustments to the bite. I was under the impression that we would take measurements of the teeth to see which ones needed attention. The time came for measurements, after the 'slits of paper' method, he started altering the bite with a bur. I did not expect the procedure to begin at that time, as I believed we were still in the evaluation phase. I allowed it since he had already started grinding at the bite, placing my trust in him.
After several sessions, eventually I woke up with new symptoms. Nerve pain was shooting down my legs, and muscle strain, and eventually a chronic sinus infection. When expressing these symptoms on the day I was receiving my night guard, I was told to go to a general physician, and the dentist wasn't even going to be called in until I notified the ladies at the front desk. During the examination, Dr. Glecos stated he did not see any issues and offered to make additional adjustments. Given the new symptoms, I declined further alteration. He then indicated there was little else he could do.
When I described the symptoms as nerve-related, I was told that adjustments were made on crowns rather than natural teeth and therefore, should not cause nerve symptoms. It was concluded that my symptoms were 'Underlying issues'... I feel the possibility of nerve issues can arise from a destabilized bite around the jaw joint. My TMJ issues were a focal point in our consultation, and I hoped for a more thorough evaluation or referral.
For my symptoms, pain was traveling down my leg, my feet, my chest, and through my throat. Never in two places at once, but present every day. This altered the way I walked, and numbness could be felt in my left hand, and eventually, a rapid amount of aging was taking place. Facial deformations started to form under my eyes from a chronic sinus infection. This infection has been plaguing me since the occlusal adjustment. Tinnitus was sounding loudly from my right ear, the side with the TMJ issue. Also, there were medical reports given of these symptoms as well.
Afterwards, I went to many other professionals and specialists seeking a root cause. These things usually take time; referrals have to be shipped out from my General Doctor, and acquiring an appointment within three months' time for some of these places was rare. My symptoms were getting better in some areas, but also getting worse. On a return visit six months later for a cleaning (I continued to work with them and report my symptoms), I was finally referred to a prosthodontist to check my bite. The hygienist at the time actually pushed the issue of seeing a specialist right away for a suspected collapsed bite. Given the timing of my symptoms, I am concerned that an earlier referral may have allowed for a timely assessment. I did