Who We Are - Our History
|
|
|
|
Our History
The TMJ Association, Ltd., was founded in August 1986 by Terrie Cowley and Sandra Geilfuss, both sufferers of Temporomandibular Joint Disease. Their intent was to establish a support group which would meet monthly, to provide a forum for the exchange of experiences, information, understanding and emotional support for TMJ patients. The founders met with most of the professional practitioners treating this problem in the Milwaukee area in order to gain insight into the treatment approaches used by them and their attitudes toward the TMJ patient.
The TMJ Association was organized under the laws of the State of Wisconsin and has earned a 501(c)(3) status in December 1989. As a corporation, The TMJ Association established an all volunteer Board of Directors. The Board established an all volunteer Scientific Advisory Board to provide technical insight into the complex issues addressed by the Association.
The people involved in The TMJ Association began their search for knowledge of TMJ diseases and disorders because of their own experiences with treatments. The early founders were willing to acknowledge that their treatment outcomes may have been the exception to the rule. They began their quest to learn how other patients were faring and examine the scientific knowledge base relevant to diseases of the jaw joint.
At those early meetings, individual dentists were invited to present their assessment of the "TMJ problem" to the group. All too often, the information presented by these professionals was packaged in what Dr. Harold Perry called "guru programs" learned by those who attended "sporadic, single-concept 'Hilton University' weekend TMD education." 1
We found that many of the patients of these professional providers began attending our monthly meetings with hopes of finding solutions to the problems that compromised the quality of their lives. They were searching for a way out of the quagmire in which they found themselves abandoned. Over time, it became clear that there were a multitude of problems in this field, with very little consensus on anything and much controversy on everything. It became apparent that a solution was not readily available for patients, and we needed more information founded on valid scientific studies.
1 Dr. Harold Perry, "Above All Else, Do No Harm," Journal of Craniomandibular Disorders: Facial and Oral Pain, Volume 5, No. 2, Spring 1991