Volume 22 - Issue 4

A week before the United States Congress shut its doors to recess for the Democratic and Republican conventions, representatives of the American Alliance of TMD Organizations called on congressional leaders in their Washington, DC offices. The following are the professionals who sweated through the heat, numerous treks, stairways, and underground railway system between the Capitol, Senate and House buildings: Bill Adams, Mike Baylin, Kay and Don Chase, Jack Haden, Steven Kilpatrick, Richard Klein, Mike Long ...

I just returned from a whirlwind three day visit to Capitol Hill while representing the American Alliance of TMD Organizations as their current chairman. The delegation wanted to learn more about funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clinical research. Some of the facts that I uncovered are worthy of sharing. They include the dollars, i.e. $317 million that (NIDCR), which ...

The effect of vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) on maximizing isometric deltoid strength (IDS) was measured in subjects with deep overbite. Sixteen female dental students with deep dental overbite and no history of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) were used as their own control and tested for isometric strength of the deltoid muscles, using a hand held strain gauge. Measurements were taken under four mandibular conditions: 1. habitual occlusion; 2. mandibular rest position; 3. biting on ...

The purpose of this study was to compare hardness characteristics of the masseter muscle to those of the biceps brachii muscle during repetitive muscle movements. Seventeen asymptomatic female subjects participated in this study. Each subject, on separate days, undertook a 5-minute unilateral chewing gum task on the right side and a 5-minute flexion-extension exercise on the right hand with a 2kg dumbbell. Using a handheld hardness meter, muscle hardness was measured in the right masseter ...

This study investigated the differences of age distribution and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain between marrow edema and osteonecrosis in the mandibular condyle. Subjects consisted of 35 TMJs in 35 patients with abnormal bone marrow on MR images who were selected from a consecutive series of 527 patients with TMJ disorders. Proton density and T2-weighted MR images taken in the oblique sagittal and coronal planes were used to diagnose condylar marrow abnormalities and divide them into ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the pathways of habitual mouth opening and closing in children with anterior reverse bite in the early mixed dentition differed from those of children with normal occlusion. The two subject groups for this study were composed of ten children with anterior reverse bite (reverse bite group) and twelve children with normal occlusion (normal occlusion group), respectively. These movements were measured by an optoelectronic analyzing system with ...

Iontophoresis is a modality that assists with the entry of certain therapeutic medications into injured sites. Medications, such as anesthetics, vasoconstrictors, and some corticosteroids, when dissolved in water, separate into positive and negative ions. When an electric current is passed through an ionized solution, the ions of these agents carry the electric current from the positive to the negative electrode. The above medications have been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of TMD. These ...

The purpose of this article is to provide a succinct diagnosis and management regimen for neural disorders of the craniofacial region. This guide is an attempt to organize available data in a format for use by the craniofacial pain practitioner. The management regimens are brief because the management of many of these disorders may be outside the scope of dentistry. Also, the purpose of this guide is to be user-friendly and complete. Terminology is based ...

Focal osteoporotic marrow defect (FOMD) may be the earliest detectable form of the ischemic marrow disorders. The exact cause is unknown, but three theories have been proposed in the literature. A fourth is presented in this paper. In this study, 100 biopsies were examined histologically and were diagnosed as FOMD, based upon consistent histological characteristics. Until recently, the only diagnostic criteria were radiographic evaluation and incisional biopsy. In February 2002, a through-transmission alveolar ultrasonic test ...

Chronic pain and depression often occur simultaneously, may have common causal mechanisms, and may also influence each other. An understanding of their precise relationship would be useful for the prediction of response to treatment and for better pain management for chronic pain patients. A biopsychosocial model will be used in this review paper to elucidate the relationship between chronic pain and depression in biological, social, and psychological terms. Due to the enormous amount of information ...

After any orthotic device placement, there are three possible outcomes to the freeway space. The freeway space is either decreased, unchanged, or increased. The objective of this study was to determine what effect the placement of an orthotic device has on freeway space. Freeway space was measured in a group of 26 subjects immediately after placement of an orthotic device. In a second group of 26 subjects, freeway space was measured at least one week ...

The following case report depicts the management of a patient suffering with a jaw opening oromandibular dystonia using a combination of botulinum toxin injections, zolpidem, and relaxation procedures. Eventually the botulinum toxin injections were eliminated, and the patient was maintained with only zolpidem and relaxation procedures.