Seeking Treatment for TMDs: What Patients Can Expect from Non-Dental Healthcare Providers

Publication date: Available online 10 January 2019

Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology

Author(s): Charles S. Greene, Andrew E. Bertagna

Abstract

The dental profession has long been the primary source for clinical management of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). However, patients with a facial pain problem may seek diagnosis and/or treatment from other healthcare providers. These providers may be physicians or other doctoral-level practitioners, or they could be members of various allied groups such as physical therapists or occupational therapists, acupuncturists, etc. However, little has been written about what patients might experience if they seek out care on their own outside of the dental profession.

This paper reports the results of an internet survey of all non-dental doctoral and allied health professionals to learn what they might offer to potential TMD patients. The official organizational websites for each group as well as websites of individual practitioners in each group were reviewed. Most of the official websites had little or no information about TMDs, but some members of every group surveyed were offering to treat TMD in their offices. The variety of treatments being offered went far beyond the boundaries of appropriate TMD management in the 21^st century. These results are presented with a critical discussion of each concept or practice, and advice for both dentists and patients to deal with this situation is provided.

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