Hey Bill, somehow I let this post get marked as "read" and didn't
realize I hadn't replied to thank you for your in-depth reply.  (I went
back and reloaded all the posts and *there* it was.)

You're welcome and thank you.  (I'm not going to clip the text because
maybe others missed it.)

Webby

-dentaldoc wrote:

Thanks Webby,

I also find the language of that article interesting. In the first
paragraph, the author seems to EQUATE migraine headaches with TMJ
problems:

"Although numerous drugs are now on the market which are intended to
subdue TMJ pain after the attack has already begun, preventing TMJ has
been less than satisfactory. The reason why the manufacture of "rescue"
medications, like Imitrex (GlaxoWelcome), has become a multi-billion
dollar business is because the medications for the prevention of TMJ
pain have been so disappointing."

Imitrex is indeed a "rescue" medication specifically for migraine pain,
but this is the first time I have seen it referenced as a treatment for
"TMJ pain."

This would seem to make the reader think that migraines and "TMJ" are
the same thing.

Yet later in the same page, the author seems to say something
different:

"This is not to say the intense jaw clenching alone is the cause of
migraine, but does put research back on track."

Finally! Up to that point, the reader would assume an unalienable
relation between the two. But as soon as the author finally makes a
distinction between migraines and "intense jaw clenching," the very
next sentence seems to blur the boundaries again:

"So for the best way to prevent migraine, instead of putting a pill in
your stomach, you put a device on your teeth!"

This would seem to add right back into the mix, the confusion between
migraines and TMJ problems.

It's no wonder some patients start their first visit to a new dentist
with the fingernail-screeching statement, "I have TMJ." There's enough
confusion out there to keep everyone mixed up for years.

- dentaldoc

No, to the contrary, it is not at all off topic.  The topic helps us to
understand why they have come to say that.  Take a look inside the link
to Dr. Goldman's book for some clues.  Also, you can look at the website
of Dr. Wartell.  He promotes the use of the NTI yet I am quite surprised
by the language used within the many pages of his website beginning
with:

http://www.wartell.com/html/NTIArticle.html

There are many valid reasons why patients say, "I have TMJ".  (When I
hear it, it is like finger nails on a chalkboard.  But it's *most
important* that everyone tries to understand why this statement is being
heard.

Thanks for your comment and I hope you'll stay with the topic.

Webby

"I have TMJ"

That is my favorite line that patients say.  Sorry I know this is off topic.

This book by A. Richard Goldman, DDS can be read online:

"TMJ  Syndrome: The Overlooked Diagnosis" Congdon and Weed 1987, Simon
and  Schuster 1989, Concorde Press 1997

http://www.headandneck.com/book/

http://www.headandneck.com/book/TOC.htm  (Table of Contents)

I have a copy of it in storage somewhere... probably the 1987 edition.  
Browsing the TOC and some pages from various chapters, it seems far out
of date.  As a piece of history, it supports the need for everything I
have done in my effort to describe how a TMJ iatroepidemic happened and
can still be happening ...

Here's hoping that readers will take a quick look, or a long one, to see
why I have decided to bring it to the "table".

Webby