If you are coming to the office for consultation about TMJ pain...

Diagnosis for TMJ pain primarily consists of a four- step process to determine:

1. Is there is physical evidence that there is a conflict between the teeth and the jaw joints?
2. Is there pain in the jaw joints or muscles?
3. Can the pain be proven to be linked to the conflict?
4. Does relieving the conflict between the teeth and the jaw joints stop the pain?

If all four steps check out, you can be sure that your pain is due to TMJ dysfunction syndrome, and we can help you. If not, we probably cannot help.

In order for you consultation visit to be most productive:

1. Come to the office when you do have pain. If your pain is usually worst in the mornings, schedule an early appointment, and so on.
2. Take no pain medicine for at least 12-24 hours prior to your examination visit. Masking the pain with drugs makes it harder to determine the problem.
3. Be flexible in your schedule. Especially if you are traveling a long distance for the consultation. Sometimes additional tests may be recommended or you may want to begin treatment on the day of your consultation.
4. Read all the material on this web page prior to your visit so you are as informed as possible for your consultation. Many people have been in pain for a long time and have given up hope that there is a solution to their problem. If your problem is due to a conflict between your teeth and your jaw joints, we can help.
5. If there is a friend or family member that you will need to discuss the results of your consultation with, or another person that you will need to talk with prior to beginning treatment, bring them with you so you both can ask the doctor all of your questions. It may be difficult for you to remember all of the details well enough to explain it to another person or to answer all of their questions.