Does It Work? Despite the press advocating Botox for TMJ pain problems, my clinical experience using it over the past 15 years suggests that it represents another supportive treatment at best and may not live up to the hype over the long term. To start the discussion let's focus on who is even a candidate for Botox, a chemical agent that can be used to partially reduce … [Read more...] about Botox For TMJ Pain
TMD
Tinnitus, Facial Pain and TMD – Are They Related?
It is not uncommon to see patients that present with facial or jaw pains that are not associated with disease, injury or illness of any type. These patients, typically women between the age of 18-55, relate that their pains came on without specific events, emerging spontaneously upon awakening one morning after a fatiguing day or associated with a routine meal, … [Read more...] about Tinnitus, Facial Pain and TMD – Are They Related?
Facial Pain and TMD: A Persistent Domestic Stress Disorder?
Three patient visits in the past week alone made me think that it may be time to consider formulating a new diagnostic term to categorize the countless people that I see who are suffering with facial and jaw pain but who have no history of disease, identifiable injury, or illness. I am therefore proposing a new term: Persistent Domestic Stress Disorder (PDSD), modeled after … [Read more...] about Facial Pain and TMD: A Persistent Domestic Stress Disorder?
TMJ TMD and Tinnitus
Case Study: Barry In past blogs I made reference to the relationship between jaw problems, TMD and the occurrence of Tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Though I don't believe that the majority of Tinnitus problems relate to the jaw, there are unquestionably a number of specific Tinnitus complaints that occur as a result of muscle problems in the jaw and upper neck. The … [Read more...] about TMJ TMD and Tinnitus
The Most Important Equipment in a TMJ Doctor’s Office
Modern technology, such as imaging, has led to wonderful advances in diagnosing medical problems, but for certain patients with TMJ/TMD* complaints, TMJ doctors can better understand individual patients by simply listening and looking. That’s why the most important equipment in the office is the doctor’s ears. How is that? Simply put, most jaw disorders are rooted in a … [Read more...] about The Most Important Equipment in a TMJ Doctor’s Office