Return-Path: Received: from curry.ergo.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa28718; 23 Aug 91 15:48:40 EDT Received: from curry.ergo.cs.cmu.edu by CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU id aa00570; 23 Aug 91 15:48:11 EDT To: bovik@CS.CMU.EDU Reply-To: mleone@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Dental: TMJ Syndrome Date: Fri, 23 Aug 91 15:48:06 -0400 Message-ID: <568.682976886@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Mark_Leone@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Here are the results of a recent inquiry I made about dentists with experience treating temporomandibular joint syndrome. ---------- Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1991 15:26-EDT To: Mark.Leone@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Reply-to: Tim Freeman Subject: TMJ Date: Thu, 22 Aug 91 14:21:03 -0400 Message-ID: <9770.682885263@U.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Timothy_Freeman@U.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Beware that a Tempromandibular Joint Syndrome diagnosis has been used in the past as a way to get lots of money from healty people. I have been diagnosed as having it, the dentist wanted to put me in braces among many other things. A reference book I have at home says you don't have TMJ if you can open your mouth wide enough for the distance between your teeth to exceed three finger widths; I can fit four fingers in, and the dentist still said I had TMJ. Needless to say, I have changed dentists. Tim ---------- To: Mark.Leone@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: re: TMJ Date: Thu, 22 Aug 91 15:46:08 EDT From: Charles Myers My recommendation would be that you see a good chiropractor. My older son was suffering from a severe case of TMJ, and we went from pillar to post (dentists, MDs) trying to find someone we felt good about. We got all kinds of proposals, including wearing a device in the mouth, surgery, grinding down teeth, etc., all of which were extremely invasive, and my wife and I just weren't comfortable with any of it. I happened to mention my son's condition to my chiropractor (we were living on Long Island at the time) and he told me that, interestingly enough, the trigger point for the problems of TMJ is somewhere over the back of the opposite hip. Fix the structural problem, and the TMJ problem goes away. We took my son in, and the doc had him pretty well stabilized after three visits. All the symptoms were gone for probably $100 worth of bills (paid by insurance, in our case) vs anywhere from $1500 to $4000 estimates with the other folks we went to. Another interesting thing the chiropractor told me is that, while the invasive route may fix the TMJ for a while, it may recur with a vengence after taking the invasive treatment route. What happens is that the structural problem that caused the TMJ syndrome to start with will very probably end up causing back pain later in life. If the person then goes to a chiropractor and has that problem fixed, re-aligning things properly for the back now means that it is improperly aligned as far as the jaw is concerned. The result is a recurrence of the TMJ problem. Hope this helps. Good luck. Chuck ---------- Date: Thu, 22 Aug 91 16:52:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Phyllis Reuther To: Mark.Leone@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Temporomandibular joint syndrome Cc: In-Reply-To: References: I went to Dr H. Stern and I think he did a fine job. Phyllis Reuther ---------- To: Mark.Leone@CS.CMU.EDU cc: sford@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: TMJ syndrome Date: Fri, 23 Aug 91 09:58:47 -0400 Message-ID: <17586.682955927@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU> From: Stephen_Ford@MAPS.CS.CMU.EDU My wife and her partner perform physical therapy on TMJ patients. Their TMJ patients are referred to them by various dentists and oral surgeons in the Pittsburgh area. I asked her for a name and she recommended Dr. Dattilo on Locust St (near Mercy Hospital). Good Luck. ---------- From: Joe.Mattis@ISL1.RI.CMU.EDU To: Mark.Leone@CURRY.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Temporomandibular joint syndrome Message-Id: <682965340/jam@ISL1.RI.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: Mark.Leone's bboard message of 22-Aug-91 13:03 > Anyone know of a dentist (or oral surgeon) in Pittsburgh who has > experience treating temperomandibular joint syndrome? Yep. I liked the guys who work out of Central Medical Pavilion, above the Civic Arena. I forget their names, but I'll mail them to you in a few hours. About two years ago, something popped in my TMJ, and I could barely open my mouth enough to eat. One of the three oral surgeons there (they all practice together) managed to calm me down, took x-rays showing that no bone damage had occurred, and prescribed massive ibuprophen before doing anything else. The problem (mostly) went away without further treatment. If it hadn't, they were going to make a plastic bite-piece for me, which would hold my jaw in a "healthy" position to give it a better chance at healing. They believe that surgery is a last resort, and use it rarely. -Joe ---------- From: Joe.Mattis@ISL1.RI.CMU.EDU To: mleone@CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Temporomandibular joint syndrome Message-Id: <682975607/jam@ISL1.RI.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: mleone's mail message of Fri, 23 Aug 91 12:48:34 -0400 Mark, The doctors' names were: Michael R. Kahn, D.M.D. Raymond C. Trop, D.M.D. Martin E. Eichner, D.D.S. Their main place of business is the Central Medical Center, 1200 Centre Ave (above the Civic Arena), 562-3140. I was briefly seen by Kahn, and closely examined by Eichner. If memory serves, folks recommended Trop, but he was also the busiest, so I never saw him. Good luck! -Joe