“I’ve suffered from severe headaches since I was a teenager,” says local mom Meredith Sauer. “I’m thirty-three now, with a husband and three kids under the age of four (Madalyn, Merian, Meaghan), and my headaches were coming two or three times a week and lasting a day or more. I’d seen doctors and a neurologist and all kinds of specialists…but no one could give me a diagnosis. My husband said I grind my teeth at night, so I bought an OTC nightguard, but I still got headaches and woke up with stiff shoulders, an aching neck, and a jaw that would lock up. The daily pain was excruciating! I tried migraine pills, stretches, nothing worked. The only relief I found was from my chiropractor…but the pain always came back!”

“I was new to the area, so when I had a cracked tooth I asked my friend to recommend a dentist….and that’s how I found Dr. Zahra Cook. I loved the way she explained things and the excellent work she did. She can do everything from cleanings for adults and kids to braces to wisdom teeth extractions (I know this personally!) and more. One day I was looking at her website and I found a whole page on TMD (also called TMJ). It was like reading about my own life…and when I saw the diagram of a woman holding one side of her head, I saw myself. My headaches gave me piercing pain on the spot right above my eye. I came to Dr. Cook for more information, but I couldn’t have imagined how she would change my life!”

“Dr. Cook recommended testing for TMD. I talked it over and everyone from my husband to my chiropractor told me to go for it. The diagnostic tests she ran showed that I had a physical defect. My jawbone was literally touching my skull. Nothing I tried could have ever corrected that! Dr. Cook spent hours measuring every aspect of my bite for my mouthpiece. When it came, I was amazed. Literally, the pain was gone! I wore it all the time for three weeks, but now I only wear it at night. It’s re-trained my jaw so the muscles are now extended and relaxed….and I don’t have any pain at all.”

How does the magic work? Dr. Cook explains, “Meredith’s misaligned jaw made her jaw muscles contract and shorten to compensate for her physical problem, Temporomandibular Dysfunction (known as TMD or TMJ). This cycle of pain, muscle spasms, and jaw joint problems results when the teeth, chewing muscles, and jaw joints do not work together in harmony…but it is treatable! After determining Meredith’s optimal bite, I created a custom bite splint, an orthotic, to relax her muscles, restore balance to the jaw joint, and stabilize her bite.”

Meredith says, “Not only do I feel like a whole new person, you can see the difference in my face. I’m smiling, relaxed…and my chin is more pronounced, so my face has more symmetry. It’s incredible how the splint Dr. Cook made me has changed my life. I’m able to be enjoy my friendships, my husband, and my children with my whole heart and all my energy now. She’s given me back my life!”

Zahra Cook, DMD Advanced Cosmetic Dentist
281-342-8481
536 Fm 359 Rd
Richmond, TX 77406