Facts & Myths about TMD, TMJ, & Orofacial Pain
In dentistry as in medicine, you'll find doctors on every side of contentious issues: is the mercury in amalgam dental fillings safe or not? (Yes, the science is clear that it’s safe). Is fluoride beneficial or dangerous? (Again, the science is solidly on the side of safety and efficacy). While dentists argue about which bonding agent or porcelain is best, one topic is almost guaranteed to cause huge fights: Occlusion and TMJ/TMD, if they're connected or not, and even their basic definitions. If our profession can't even agree, it’s no wonder that the public knows so little of what causes TMD, what can be done to treat it by dentists, when one should be evaluated or treated by other medical specialists, what medications help and which don’t. Hopefully this article can help clear up some of the myths & misinformation. This article was co-written with Dr. Rich Hirschinger, an Orofacial Pain Specialist in California, and was first published in April 2017 in Massage & Fitness Magazine Winter 2017 edition. “My Last Dentist Told Me I Have TMJ” Whenever I hear this comment, I have to chuckle, because I sure hope they do! After all, “TMJ” simply means Temporomandibular Joint and refers to the joint where the uppermost part (the condyle) of your lower jaw (mandible) moves against the temporal bone at base of your skull. After all, you don’t go to the knee specialist and say, “I have knee.” What people really mean is that they have one or more signs and/or symptoms that fall under the broad term of Temporomandibular Disorders, or TMD. For most people, they think of these kinds of conditions: They clench or grind their teeth. They have pain in their [...]
