With the controversy surrounding the treatment of TMDs, Treatment of TMDs: Bridging the Gap Between Advances in Research and Clinical Patient Management is a welcome addition to the dental literature. Instead of advocating for a specific treatment based on clinical experience, as so many books on this subject do, Drs Greene and Laskin apply the latest scientific research to the clinical management of TMDs. By focusing on a single question—what is happening in various research areas that will be clinically applicable to the mangement of TMDs?—the authors discuss the anatomy, biochemistry, neurophysiology, and psychology of common disorders before explaining how this knowledge may apply to the diagnosis and treatment of TMD patients.
Although much of the information discovered about musculoskeletal disorders through new research tools and innovative experimental designs can be directly or indirectly applied to TMJs, many dental clinicians are unaware of this type of information because it is presented mainly in medical publications or nonclinical scientific journals. This book therefore brings the research to the reader, going one step further to explain the potential of new research for changing future patient care. Covering such clinically relevant topics as the relation of abnormal joint function to joint pathology, the prediction of treatment responsiveness, how sleep disorders affect TMJs and facial pain, the role of comorbid conditions in pain response and management, and the evolving field of pharmacotherapeutics, this book is sure to transform the way clinicians think about TMDs and how they approach TMD treatment. Click here for a preview of the book and order here.