A Paradigm Shift. We’ve argued for some time that Temporomandbiluar Disorders (TMD) are not just about teeth and jaws, but represent a family of painful disorders that can co-occur and interact with other painful conditions in the body, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic headache, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and vulvodynia, to name a few. These are all complex conditions influenced by genes, sex, age and behavioral and environmental triggers.

A few weeks ago I gave a presentation to the American Academy of Orofacial Pain at their annual meeting in Las Vegas. My husband Allen, also gave a presentation based upon his research utilizing systems approaches in hypertension research as an example of how this approach can be applied to TM disorders.  It was a rather intense meeting with some very interesting presentations and a nice opportunity to interact with the participants and attendees.

I frequently think of all the people in my life who have been my support since my TMJ surgery, the so-called "wind beneath my wings." On December 27th I lost one of my staunchest supporters, my husband's mother. My own mother died when I was 27 and Norma Cowley generously, graciously, and lovingly filled that void. She always introduced me as her daughter and, more importantly, treated me as her own.

Hyperacusis is defined as a collapsed tolerance to normal environmental sounds. Following jaw surgery, for about a year I experienced hyperaccusis. The slightest sound was painful to the point of tears. We don't often hear this symptom from TMJ patients but in case there are those who experience hyperaccusis, we'd like you to know about The Hyperaccusis Network and the work they do.

Terrie Cowley, TMJA President & Co-founder

The TMJ Association (TMJA) is interested in attracting volunteers to serve in an advisory capacity to the organization to accelerate our efforts to expand awareness of temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJDs) among the public and professionals and promote scientific research. You, as a patient or someone close to a patient, have full understanding of how devastating these conditions can be and the impact they have on the lives of TMJ patients and their loved ones. Your experience and understanding of TMJDs will make you a valuable asset in helping the organization move forward.

In our effort to keep you abreast of articles of interest on many health care issues, I thought you would find the information from the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health interesting. With the advent of brain imaging, we are now able to see the effects of medications on the brain and some of the best science in this area (as well as in pain research) is being conducted by the National Institute of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

I send hearty congratulations to Deanne, TMJA's project coordinator, and to Danny and Susan of 11th Hour Solutions and the rest of the team for the hard work they put into developing the 2010 TMJ Association website. I’m proud of their work and the final product. I hope you find it easy to navigate and that the information you want is easily accessible.