Archive for the ‘ Blog ’ Category
#121 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ Treatments (Part 6) Physical Therapy and Dry Needling
When a patient presents to his physician, (MD) with complaints of constant, recurrent, or chronic neck and shoulder pain one of several treatments may be proposed. Depending on which alternatives have already been prescribed and failed, including various categories of drugs, and referrals to orthopedic surgeons, and neuro surgeons, the PCP will likely refer their […]
#120 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ (Part 5) Orthodontic Treatment
It may surprise you, but treating the symptoms of TMD/TMJ using “braces” on the teeth has been promoted by Orthodontists almost as long as TMD, Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, has been identified as a disease. If ever there was an example of the adage, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like […]
#119 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ (Part 4) Neuroleptic Drugs
According to the dictionary, a neuroleptic drug is any drug that tends to reduce nervous tension by depressing nerve functions. There are several categories of neuroleptic drugs. These include Benzodiazepines, (Xanax, Librium, Valium, Klonopin, Serax), and SSRI’s, (Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, Zoloft). Benzodiazepines and SSRI’s are the two most commonly prescribed categories of neuroleptic […]
#118 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ (Part 3) “Talk Therapy”
First, let’s define our terms. TMD/TMJ is disease with multiple symptoms. The most common symptoms are headache, earache, jaw pain, neck pain, ringing in the ears, a feeling of fullness in the ears, vertigo, upper back and shoulder pain, arm/hand/finger tingling and numbness and various kinds of jaw locking. Noise from the jaw joints is […]
#117 Fact Checking TMD/TMJ (Part 2)
This is the second in a series of articles written to dispel the confusions, inaccuracies, fixed ideas, and poorly constructed theories presented as facts concerning Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, (TMD). Today, we’ll focus on joint noises. Noise emanating from the jaw joints is the most common sign, and or symptom of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder. Notice I […]
#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 […]
#115 Burning Mouth & Tongue and TMD/TMJ
Burning tongue or other less than comfortable sensations of the tongue is a relatively rare phenomenon. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, Section on Otolaryngology, burning mouth syndrome occurs in about 90 to 120 of 100 000 people, although some studies report a frequency as high as 18% of the population. Women are […]
#114 Why is TMD/TMJ Not Covered by Insurance?
Before answering this question, I need to first define Insurance. According to the dictionary, “Insurance is a practice or arrangement by which a company or government agency provides a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a premium”. There is a huge difference between medical insurance and […]
#113 The Patients “Fix Me” Mentality and TMD/TMJ
At first, the title of this article may sound condescending to some. It is not written with that intention. Let me explain. All patients visit doctors for the same reason. Patients visit doctors because they need help maintaining their health or solving a particular health problem. The visits can be precipitated because of a recent […]
#112 TMD was a Mystery Wrapped in a Conundrum inside an Enigma
It has been 90 years since Dr. James Costen, an ENT surgeon from St. Louis first described the symptoms of TMD, (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder), in 1934. It was not until an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with substantial training and experience in cell biology and anatomy along with both medical and dental degrees having performed 2000 […]