TMJ & Gnathology

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Do you have headaches, migraines, or neck, shoulder or jaw pain, ringing in your ears, or clicking in the jaw? Many of us have one or more of these symptoms but we simply live with the discomfort – from mild to severe – because physicians are often unable to locate a physiological cause. Now, however, many people are finding a “neuromuscular dentist” is the solution to chronic face, neck, back and head pain.

PORTLAND, Oregon--Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry (www.ohsu.edu/sod) have uncovered an interaction between two proteins in the nerve cells that carry pain information from the head and neck to the brain. The finding could play a significant role in the development of therapies to cure migraines and other craniofacial pain conditions like TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately 10 percent of Americans suffer from chronic pain conditions and a significant portion of them have chronic craniofacial pain.

BOSTON, Massachusetts – The Forsyth Institute has announced the appointment of Lin Xu, MD, PhD, as the Milton & Renée Glass Family Fellow in Jaw Joints & Allied Musculo-Skeletal Research. Dr. Dominick DePaola, President and Chief Executive of Forsyth said, “I am delighted with the appointment and with the entry into this exciting new field of research for Forsyth. It represents a breakthrough in the application of basic science into a craniofacial disorder affecting millions of Americans.” Dr. Xu’s current research focuses on the underlying causes including genetic factors, of osteoarthritis in the jaw joints. Arthritis is widely considered a co-morbid condition of temporomandibular muscle (jaw) joint disorders/disease (TMJ/TMJD) the same painful and disabling condition that affects other joints in the body.

BUFFALO, New York – People whose recurrent headaches have been diagnosed as tension-related actually may be suffering from temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder, or TMJD, a study headed by a researcher from the University at Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine has shown.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina – One of the most stubborn and debilitating pain syndromes will come under intense and unprecedented scrutiny over the next seven years as researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fulfill a new $19 million cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Collaborating in the effort will be scientists at the universities of Florida, Maryland and Buffalo-SUNY and Batelle Memorial Institute in Durham, N.C.

BETHESDA, Maryland – The National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today the launch of a seven-year clinical study that could accelerate research on better pain-controlling treatments for a jaw condition called temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJDs).

ROSEMONT, Illinois – Although many temporomandibular joint disorders can be well treated with nonsurgical means, surgery remains an important therapeutic option for many who suffer from this painful disorder, according to one of the first prospective multicenter comparative studies of TMJ surgical outcomes, published in the August 2005 issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

SACRAMENTO, California – Holidays can bring on stress as fast as a snow flurry, and that can bring on bruxism, or teeth grinding, for adults and children. Some symptoms of bruxism are jaw pain, headaches, earaches or neck pain.

CHICAGO, Illinois – Getting to the root of diagnosing orofacial pain, a condition affecting more than 15 million Americans, can be frustrating for patients and a daunting task for physicians and dentists. Symptoms caused by temporomandibular disorders (TMD), a variety of conditions affecting the jaw, joints and nerves, often mimic other conditions such as headache, migraine and sinus and tooth pain.

July 1, 2002--For the first time, researchers in New Hampshire and Texas have shown that people with a certain genetic make-up are more susceptible to developing temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.