#116 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ (Part I)

This is the first in a multipart series intending to discover and uncover all the lies, confusions, historical nonsense, and what is now referred to as misinformation regarding TMD/TMJ.  The number of parts in this series is unknown and cannot be estimated except to say there is a lot to document. 

I began my education regarding TMD/TMJ in 1969 as a freshman in dental school. Since then, much information and experience was gained via a Masters of Science degree in Anatomy/Cell Biology,  Medical Degree, Internship/Residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, two year Fellowship with the National Institutes of Health/National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Facial Research studying facial growth and development and 48 consecutive years as a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in private practice having performed over 2000 surgical procedures on the TMJ. 

Regarding the study, science and treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD), I have seen it all. I have experienced it from the independent researchers’ viewpoint, the health care providers viewpoint, the government researcher’s viewpoint, the insurance companies’ viewpoint and certainly the patients’ viewpoint, having interfaced with fellow surgeons, dentists, insurance companies, government research groups, and over 10,000 patients with the devastating symptoms of TMD. I have performed every type of surgery recommended by my fellow OMS, journal articles, and purported TMJ specialists to treat TMD, some more effective than others, and some hundreds of times.  

I decided to stop doing TMJ surgery 12 years ago primarily because 30-40 % of my surgical cases would be back in my office within a year or two complaining of the original symptoms.  A 60-70% success rate was not good enough for me.  So, I quit doing surgery and began my own research trying to figure out a solution to a disease that appeared to be totally confusing to both patients and doctors. The fact that I was successful and how that came to pass is covered extensively elsewhere.   

This article and those following will simply bring to light all the nonsense regarding TMD/TMJ that’s currently available about this problem which substantially delays or limits patients from gaining effective treatment. This will be a no-hole bared description of “things that shouldn’t happen but do”.   I plan on discussing the failure of the dental establishment, medical establishment, insurance establishment, and government establishments that have for various reasons of their own focused on their organization’s well-being, trying to maintain a status quo, instead of the well being of patients who have been run around in circles, some for decades, attempting to find a solution for their symptoms. 

Until recently, coincident with the conclusion of my research, TMD had been an enigma and conundrum since it was first identified and published as a unique disease by Dr. James P Costen in 1934.  Like Alzheimer’s Disease or various forms of cancer, TMD has devastating life changing effects, but lacks organized, well-funded, broad scope research.   

It has not been well studied because it is considered a dental disease.  The dental industry and dental schools focus their time and dollars on teeth and the oral structures related to the teeth.  This limitation in scope of investigation has been a disservice to the dental profession, especially the young dentists currently or recently trained.  There isn’t enough time for dental schools to adequately train dentists in the basics of the profession, let alone in an area that has the reputation of being, at best, complicated and confusing.  Following graduation, it’s up to the practicing dentist to seek out further education in areas of interest.  Almost universally, the dentist, now facing life’s personal and economic challenges, opts to do what they already know, or have been taught.  The blinders are now in place.  Anything considered complicated, difficult, unique, controversial, or time consuming will be avoided.  Ignorance regarding this disease is then secure. 

Further articles on “Fact Checking TMD/TMJ” (Part II through?) are available at www.urbanektmj.com.