I have to wonder what is wrong with doctors these days. Why do patients think more logically then they do??? You sked the exact question that has been going through my own noggin for a couple of years now, but my own surgeon will look at me as if I am nuts should i suggest it. I believe my TMJ condylar head erosion is due to the CSO in my jaw, due to the septic tank that has been created in that lower mandible. The other TMJ is suffering like mad as it compensates for this one. However, the right side is also affected by the CSO sitting on my frontal bone above it, so when my right TMJ starts acting up, my frontal bone aches and my temporalis aslo goes into spasm. My left TMJ is out of order when the lower mandible flares up. A no win situation....like you, the way things are going, I also feel I could be dead by the time a solution is found. I feel that doctors have a "thing" about a patient "being right" about their problem. But guys...get over it, it is your job to HELP people!! Some of us just happen to know our bodies better than others and are educated enough to actually be able to pinpoint the problem. I have been accused of being a smartass patient as well. Geeze...I can't imagine how a doctor can get treated by another doctor then. Chins up everyone....take good care, "Smartass" Marie;)