Update on TMD and Orofacial Pain

Contemporary science calls for a whole new way to view the field of orofacial pain and the subset of temporomandibular diseases and disorders. The subject has reached a juncture where traditional - mostly unicausal - models of causation will rapidly fall on the wayside, making room for exciting new understanding that promises much needed advances for the care of patients. This one-day course introduces to the future of TMJDs, not only examining what is known but also what should be established by now if our conceptual framework were correct, placing emphasis on the bigger picture and the road ahead.

Orofacial Pain – The Future is Now

DNA sequence variations affect the gene product and in turn, may have functional relevance with respect to disease. From this perspective, genetics and genomics have emerged as the conceptual frontier to advance the understanding and care of all 12,000 diseases that affect the human race. The idea that an error in the DNA predicts our fate, including the risk to suffer from TMJDs became part of household knowledge. Unsurprisingly, the first wave of systematic genetic studies of TMJDs and their related pain conditions has already hit the literature.

Linking the Future to the Past, One Patient at a Time

A vast number of patients - between 75-95 percent - seeking care for the first time receives treatment benefits, even lasting resolution of their pain condition, from a range of very different treatments that are founded again on a host of very different explanations for their respective mode of action. This is in stark contrast to those patients encountered in academic health care centers, desperate to obtain relief and receiving comfort at best, again from a wide range of management modalities. Although providers have their preferred mode of treatment and often justify and defend their favourite approach to no surprise in emotionally charged terms, no significant and consistent (from study-to-study) response differences between various treatment modalities have been established, now for close to two decades.

Tunnel Vision: If you own a Hammer, Everything looks like a Nail

This presentation will focus on the need to acknowledge patient’s preferences when choosing among available treatment options. Why should a practitioner care?

A Plea for Low-Tech, High Prudence Therapeutic Approach

A sensible strategy is introduced that supports therapeutic decision-making, acknowledging clinical uncertainties and medico-legal matters.