#94 TMD/TMJ: Separating Fact from Fiction

One overriding fact, once established and understood, will separate fact from fiction regarding the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of TMD/TMJ. That fact is summarized as follows:

All the Disparate Symptoms of TMD/TMJ are Created and Caused by Chronic Inflammation within the Joint Itself.

In other words, since all the symptoms are created by chronic inflammation within the joint, if the inflammation within the joint is diminished, the symptoms are diminished.

This is a very simple concept to understand. But for the past 70 years healthcare providers of every kind, dentists, physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists, behavioral therapists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, ENT surgeons, neurologists, and the public at large have operated as if this is not fact, and instead applied all sorts of diagnostic tools and treatment modalities that address symptoms rather than the actual cause.

To prove the point, everyone, doctor and patient alike, knows that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin and ibuprofen-Motrin) will decrease the symptoms of TMD/TMJ but only for a short period of time. After 2-3 weeks of using non-steroidal medication, they are no longer effective. They run out of steam and the symptoms return. But aspirin and ibuprofen are great short acting anti-inflammatories.

So, if inflammation within the joint is the problem, why are so many health care providers trying to diagnose or treat the problem by addressing something other than chronic inflammation within the temporomandibular joint?

I am not going to comment on the “why” of the question, but here is a list of the commonly used methods to diagnose and treat TMD that do not address the cause. Therefore, they are fiction in solving the problem.

Diagnosis:

Cone Beam CT scan. (CBCT) Will not show chronic inflammation

Magnetic Resonance Imaging. (MRI) Will not depict chronic inflammation.

Auscultation (Listening with a stethoscope) You cannot hear inflammation.

Electromyography (EMG) Testing the muscles cannot determine inflammation in the joint

Treatment:

Botox (Botulinum Toxin A) Paralyzing a muscle does not decrease inflammation within the joint.

Night guards. Does not decrease chronic inflammation within the joint.

Exercising the joint. Does not decrease chronic inflammation in the joint.

Muscle relaxants. Does not decrease chronic inflammation in the joint.

Orthodontics. Does not decrease chronic inflammation within the joint.

Anti-anxiety medication. Does not decrease inflammation in the joint.

Dry needling of the muscles. Does not decrease inflammation in the joint.

Surgery. Does not decrease chronic inflammation in the joint

The easiest and best way to decrease chronic inflammation within any joint is to rest the joint. If there is chronic inflammation in the knee, a set of crutches will do the job. If you have chronic inflammation of the elbow, placing the arm in a sling will eliminate the chronic inflammation and pain.

If you have chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, an intra-oral device that takes the load off the joint like a set of crutches takes the load off the knee, or a sling takes the load off the elbow will decrease the inflammation within the TMD/TMJ.

When you decrease the inflammation within the TMJ the symptoms go away.

It’s that simple. The Urbanek Device and Protocol takes the load of the TMJ and decreases the inflammation withing the joint. That’s a fact.