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And the Committee heard from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

At the end of the NAM meeting, Dr. Gregory Ness, representing the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAMOS) gave the following comments: “AAMOS welcomes the interest and support of the Academies, the NIH, NIDCR, FDA and The

What Allen Told the Committee

Allen Cowley addressed the second open-to-the-public meeting of the National Institute of Medicine's (NAM) Committee on Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) held on March 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. No stranger to the world of TMD, Dr. Cowley is the hus

Some Thoughts on Depression

It is hardly surprising that the chronic pain and limitations in function that many long-time TMJ patients experience can be accompanied by a state of depression, a sense of exhaustion and hopelessness.

Upcoming NAM Public Webinars on TMD

The National Academy of Medicine's (NAM) Committee on Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD): From Research Discoveries to Clinical Treatment is hosting two public web conferences on Wednesday, June 19 and Wednesday, July 31.   Webinar 1: Pati

The NAM Committee Heard from Patients, Too

At the March 28, 2019 public meeting NAM committee members had a chance to hear from TMD patients who had submitted testimony for the record.

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

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