The good news is the Good Lord provided him with a career he could be passionate about! He knew first hand what it was like to suffer from TMJ. That combined with his strong faith gave him the strength and perseverance to take on all the critics. He got the Wisconsin Dental Association to recognize the existence of TMJ in the "80's". Then he combined with them and thousands of passionate pain free patients across the state to convince the Senate, the House, and the Governor that insurance coverage was needed for the TM Joints like any other part of the body. It was vetoed the first time it got to the governor's desk in "91", but they got it through in "97" against the two strongest lobbies in the state, the insurance and business lobby. Dr. Seymour firmly believes this is the most preventive medical and dental treatment to come along in decades and he's excited about going around the world teaching these precise techniques to others within the professions.
Dr. Seymour pursued his undergraduate training at UW Madison and UW -Milwaukee, and went to Marquette University dental school from 1966-1970. The Doctor had a two years of additional training at Holmstead Air Force base in Florida. While on the base, he had an opportunity to have his bite examined off base at a nationally recognized dental clinic. His bite was equilibrated and balanced, but no one at that time, even at this prestigious clinic, examined for TMJ problems. Some of the bite problems were alleviated, but the TMJ problems continued to exist.
Two years after starting private practice in 1972, he was at an international meeting in Chicago, Illinois and heard his first speaker relative to TMJ. It made complete sense to him because they were talking about him. The speaker gave him a nudge into taking some courses and beginning to treat patients for TMJ disorders. At one of the first courses Dr. Seymour attended on TMJ, Dr. Harold Gelb, one of the pioneers, stated "I've got good news, and bad news. The good news is that you are in the greatest profession in the world for helping people with chronic pain. The bad news is that it is going to take 10 years to filter to the profession and 25 years before it being taught in dental schools." He is sad to say that Dr. Gelb was conservative in his estimates. It's been 25 years now, and it's still not being diagnosed by over 80% of dentist and 90% of Physicians, and only the graduate students at most dental schools get any training in treating TMJ disorders. They still seem to want to fight it more than facilitate it. It's the number one cause of headaches, and it's not even on the exam form physicians use for headaches or routine physicals.
As a result of having TMJ himself, Dr. Seymour has worn all types of appliances, and has had the added benefit of learning it from the inside out. He has come to realize how critical it is to have TMJ treated precisely. Guidance systems and support within thousandths of a millimeter or hundredths of a second are absolutely critical in relation to the type of results you are going to get in most cases. All dentists are trained in the importance of guidance systems within the gnathological functions of the bite, yet they think they can treat TMJ problems with a flat plane piece of plastic. They will never get the best results possible for the patient unless they treat this with the precise tolerances, and positioning it demands.
Dr Seymour's professional memberships include: American Dental Association, Wisconsin Dental Association, Greater Milwaukee Dental Association, and The Academy of Head, Neck & Facial Pain. He is an Associate of the Cooper Pain Center. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Restorative course offered by the Society of Occlusal Studies.
Dr. Seymour and his wife Holly are actively involved with their in their six children Casey, Robb, Jeremy, Tobey, Tyler, Kailey, and grandchildren Jordan, Drew, Emily Stuart, and Brooke. They are very active in their church, soccer, drama, music, and ballet.
