TMJ Services

I write this series of articles for patients, not doctors.  I intend to view TMD from the patient’s point of view because it is the patients who are most confused regarding this problem they call “TMJ”.  There are many reasons why they are confused.  The first and greatest reason patients are confused is because the […]

I write this series of articles for patients, not doctors.  I intend to view TMD from the patient’s point of view because it is the patients who are most confused regarding this problem they call “TMJ”.  There are many reasons why they are confused.  The first and greatest reason patients are confused is because the […]

As a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with 46 years of surgical experience and over 2000 surgical procedures of various kinds performed specifically upon the temporomandibular joint, I feel well qualified to comment on TMD and its relationship to surgical intervention.  Not only have I personally performed each variant of TMJ surgery many times […]

Now that you know what defines TMD and the three categories which create inflammation within the TMJ, it should be a pretty easy problem to fix.  Right?  If you can get rid of the inflammation in this joint, the symptoms will diminish. Then why aren’t the medical and dental professions able to do this predictably, […]

Acute Trauma is the third circumstance that creates inflammation with the temporomandibular joint.  Acute trauma comes in an infinite number of varieties.  For the males the history will include bar fights, 4 X 4’s falling off the pick-up truck, and all kinds of amateur and professional sports.  Females, on the other hand, frequently report incidences […]

The second circumstance, or more properly, set of circumstances that cause TMD is technically referred to as “Functional Malocclusion”.  Let’s see if I can describe functional malocclusion in a way that will make sense to the reader who has no training in the medical sciences. Think of the chewing mechanism as a finely engineered and […]

My prior article defined TMD. It also described the common denominator responsible for all of TMD symptoms. INFLAMMATION! Next, we will cover the circumstances that create the inflammation of the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) The first is the most common.  Clenching and grinding of the teeth, voluntary or involuntary, day or night, causes inflammation of the […]

There is much confusion about this disease by both patients and doctors.   First on the list is the name.  “TMJ” is the name of the joints that attach the jaw to the skull. One on the right side of the head and one on the left side of the head.  These joints work together in […]

This is the second in a series of articles designed to answer the most common question asked by our patients after years or even decades of suffering life altering TMD/TMJ Symptoms.  We often hear, “How come no ne ever told me about this before?”  This article will focus on the influence of insurance companies. First, […]

“How Come No One Ever Told Me About This Before” is a strange title for an article but is one of the most common statements heard from patients when they return for their first follow-up appointment after delivery of the Urbanek Device.  This comment usually comes from patients with between 5 and 40 years of […]