November Is TMJ Awareness Month
Many patients come to the St. Louis Dental Center, an innovative partnership of A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) and Affinia Healthcare, and list oral health concerns, including temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain.
Humans have a TMJ as part of the maxillofacial region. To be more precise, humans have two TMJs—a left and right side that articulate with the skull base, allowing a person to open their mouth, talk, chew and even yawn.
Certainly, TMJs are very important in daily life as unique bi-arthrodial joints in our body. Prashanth K. Haribabu, D.D.S., M.S.D., M.D.S., Associate Professor of Education at ATSU-MOSDOH and Special Care Unit Director at St. Louis Dental Center, and Akshay Vij, B.D.S., ACT, Associate Professor at ATSU-MOSDOH and Special Care Unit Director at St. Louis Dental Center, see dental patients with these concerns and problems. They also educate third- and fourth-year dental students at the St. Louis Dental Center by involving them in lengthy diagnostic conversation about TMJ and temporomandibular temporomandibular disorder (TMD).
Physiology and Pathology
As the most frequently used joint in the body, the TMJ does undergo physiological and pathological changes due to normal wear, tear and use. Multiple causes can result in various debilitating conditions including clicking, grinding and excruciating pain, as well as limitation in mobility, all of which lead to a loss of function.
At this stage, the complaints are diagnosed as TMDs. A TMD is defined by conditions affecting both the bony (articular) structures and accompanying muscles of mastication (myogenous) components. Pain or discomfort emanating from the TMJ overlap with other critical structures in the head and neck region including the odontogenic (dental) origin.
It may be challenging to diagnose TMD accurately and manage the joint successfully. However, increased research and diagnostic clinical training achieved by the dental specialist and dentist play a critical role in avoiding misdiagnosis and providing an appropriate management strategy to this multifactorial condition. At the St. Louis Dental Center, Dr. Vij utilizes advanced digital dentistry methods to support the physiology and pathology diagnosis.
Management and Treatment
TMD is known to be multifactorial because not just one condition leads to pain and discomfort from the joint or muscular region. Other factors, such as stress, genetics, and emotional or environmental changes, have shown to precipitate or aggravate TMDs. In recent years, poor alterations to sleep or sleep architecture have also negatively impacted TMDs. An accurate discussion of various symptoms can result in a time-consuming consultation with the dentist.
In 2020, the Journal of the American Dental Association recognized orofacial pain as the newest and 12th specialty focusing on diagnosis, management, research and advanced education of several variants of pain that arise in the face, jaws and mouth. A major part of this focus includes the specialization of TMD diagnosis and treatment. This specialty training entails a minimum of 24 months of advanced, postgraduate education and practice program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
TMJ AND TMD in ATSU-MOSDOH Dental Education
Dr. Haribabu has a background in orofacial pain, TMDs, and oral and maxillofacial surgery, which has helped establish an avenue for both diagnosis and treatment of patients when evaluated at the St. Louis Dental Center.
Third-year dental students rotating through the oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty care unit at ATSU-MOSDOH spend considerable time interviewing and interacting with patients suffering from several forms of TMDs. The introduction of TMD within ATSU-MOSDOH’s dental program occurs both in the classroom and in the patient care clinic setting at the St. Louis Dental Center. Patient interaction is critical in establishing connection and trust as well as obtaining detailed information about the patient’s condition.
Dental students receive further clinical exposure with these cases in their fourth year. These students, who will soon graduate and practice as general dentists in their communities, learn that they have an important role in recognizing early signs of TMD and helping those patients from advancing in the disease process. Dental students also have an opportunity to participate in clinical research involving TMDs. One such project involved evaluating diagnostic accuracy and the incidence of misdiagnosis of patients presenting with nonspecific jaw pain. The findings of this study [JW3] [AC4] were presented by students at the American Academy of Orofacial Pain in 2022.
Courtesy of Prashanth K. Haribabu, D.D.S., M.S.D., M.D.S., Associate Professor of Education at A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health and Special Care Unit Director at St. Louis Dental Center, and Akshay Vij, B.D.S., ACT, Associate Professor at A.T. Still University Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health and Special Care Unit Director at St. Louis Dental Center
Published on November 12, 2025