Practical TMD & Occlusion For the General Dentist

Learn how to control the forces that threaten your patient and the dentistry you do for them. And finally… the TRUTH that will remove the confusion and allow you to COMFORTABLY and CONFIDENTLY help so many of your patients!

This full two-day course uses evidenced based science to help eliminate the myths that prevent us from confidently and comfortably helping patients. We will examine the theories of occlusion and restorative therapy and critically evaluate the reality of occlusion’s role in joint therapy and pain control.

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This is the ONLY occlusion course you will EVER need to take! The course will provide the basic information to diagnose and effectively treat joint dysfunction and many oro-facial pain conditions. Although basic commonly used agents will be reviewed, this is NOT a course in pharmacology. Our goal is to determine how disorders occur and why they remain persistent, thereby allowing us to treat more efficiently and readily within the scope of our general dental practices.

This is a basic course in practical TMJ anatomy and physiology and TMJ dysfunction and chronic pain issues. Diagnosis and treatment of these disorders emphasizing proper control of parafunction will be reviewed.
Learn the myths of occlusion, that you will find both enlightening and exciting; things you know are true but have been told for years that aren’t, and they ARE!!!
This information is essential to all practicing dentists and will be immediately helpful in your daily practice. Learn an exciting new protocol using parafunctional control. Explore the various potentially confusing occlusal therapeutic concepts. Review diagnostically driven therapy utilizing splint therapy and supportive therapy. Explore the dentist’s role in headache therapy.

 This course was previously entitled “ABC’s of TMD,” then “Tooth Wear to Migraine,” “Traumatic Occlusion and Bruxism,” and most recently, “Principles of Occlusion and Occluding.”  Not one of these titles is appropriate, nor do any even suggest the real value of this course to every dentist.

We all have had patients complain about a tooth which is painful, but for which there is no evident dental or periodontal cause. We all have had patients who experience muscle pain after a procedure, or question why their joint clicks and ask what can be done about it.  And we all have been taught concepts about occlusion and dental “interferences” that sometimes seem logical – and sometimes do not. Often these concepts cause us to treat patients in ways that make “sense” to us – in the face of evidence that does not provide the clarity that we have been taught to believe it would provide. This course will look closely at that evidence – and the truth about the key role of occlusion will be revealed.  This revelation is not only exciting, but also eye opening, and, most importantly, potentially helpful with EVERY patient we treat.

This course will review orofacial pain and neuropathic pain concepts, including the role of the well advised dentist in the treatment of headache and neck pain.   Understanding that it is nonsensical to call “migraine” a symptom of “TMD,” we will explore the incredible way a dentist can play a major role not only in migraine pain, but also all orofacial pain patterns in a real and practical way. To help attendees diagnose and treat pain patterns that don’t seem to have obvious peripheral causes, the course will focus on the important distinction between site specific acute pain patterns and chronic pain patterns. We will look at anatomy and physiology and then joint dysfunction — learn how things “get that way” and “why they stay that way,” and then proceed to understand realistic approaches to help patient with joint pain and joint dysfunction!

APPLIANCE DESIGN:

  • WHEN TO USE AN APPLIANCE?

  • WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE APPLIANCE (AND NO — IT IS NOT TO POSITION THE CONDYLE TO RECAPTURE THE DISK!!)

  • HOW TO EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF THE APPLIANCE 

  • WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS OF APPLIANCE USE?

  • WHY ARE NIGHT GUARDS OFTEN NOT WORN — AND WHAT IS THE MECHANISM OF THE APPLIANCE OF CHOICE?