TMJ Association, Ltd.

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Educational Brochures on Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions

This brochure addresses what are Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (COPCs), how COPCs are diagnosed, the complexity of the chronic pain experience, and how to work with your health care provider to develop a treatment plan. It is available by postal ma

Study Highlights TMD Evidence and Current Practice Gaps

The TMJ Association has long championed the need for strong evidence-based demonstrations of the safety and efficacy of TMD diagnostics and treatments. Sad to say, as the following journal article indicates, even among a network of research-oriented practices, dental providers are still resorting to such TMD treatments as occlusal adjustments in which teeth are irreversibly moved, ground down, or in other ways altered, a treatment for which there is no scientific evidence of efficacy.

Beware of Ticks and Lyme Disease

We are currently in the peak season for Lyme disease. Each year at this time we highlight this topic because we have heard from a number of patients over the years who were misdiagnosed and underwent unnecessary TMD treatments when they actually had Lyme

#*!"@!**! ... May Help Your Pain... and Improve Strength!

Our headline is adopting the comic strip convention of using symbols to denote swear words because we are intrigued by a report that swearing may have some health benefits.

Predictors of Opioid Efficacy for Chronic Pain Patients

Opioids are increasingly used for treatment of chronic pain. However, they are only effective in a subset of patients and have multiple side effects. Thus, studies using biomarkers for response are highly warranted.

Introducing our TMD Nutrition Guide

  • Jun 1, 2017

The pain and jaw dysfunction associated with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) can impact your ability to chew and swallow food. How and what you are able to eat can seriously compromise your nutritional and health status - an aspect of TMD that is often overlooked by both patients and health care providers.

The TMJ Association (TMJA) asked patients their opinion on this topic. Here are a few comments we received:

"...Eating fruits, veggies, and health foods tend to be very hard on my jaw; I can get a headache just from eating an apple or a few carrots.  I would much rather sit around and eat mashed potatoes and not hurt..."

"...There are days I am so hungry, but I know the price I will pay if I 'chew' the wrong foods..."

"...My daily food choices are very limited, due to the possibility of my jaw locking up while chewing crunchy or chewy foods..."

Based on patient feedback, we found that there is a definite need to address nutrition and TMD. To help us, we enlisted the expertise of:

  • Patti Cobb, RD, CD, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Dena McDowell, MS, RD, CD, Registered Dietitian, both with the Food and Nutritional Services at Froedtert Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a teaching institution affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin
  • Joel Epstein, DMD, MSD, Consulting Staff, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, Collaborative Member, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and staff at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences Center in Los Angeles, California
  • Janelle Botez, TMD patient who encouraged us to undertake this project and offered her insight as a patient on the booklet content
  • Maureen Donahue who volunteered her time and talents in creating the booklet layout and design

With their expertise, we developed, "TMD Nutrition and You," a nutritional guide booklet specifically developed for people with compromised oral function to help them maintain a healthy diet in spite of their oral disability. Click here to download a free copy of our booklet.

Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to The TMJ Association.  As a nonprofit organization, we rely upon your contributions to carry out projects like this to help improve the lives of those we serve - TMJ patients.  

©2016 The TMJ Association, Ltd. All rights

TMJ Disorders

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In Treating TMJ

To view or order a free booklet about TMJ Disorders, visit the National Institutes of Health website.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Office of Research on Women's Health