Treatment of TMDs ─ Bridging the Gap Between Advances in Research and Clinical Patient Management

Greene (orthodontics, U. of Illinois) and Laskin (oral and maxillofacial surgery, Virginia Commonwealth U.) assemble 17 chapters on the anatomy, biochemistry, neurophysiology, and psychology of common temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs). They aim to bridge the gap in the knowledge of dental clinicians about advances in the field of musculoskeletal disease and their applications to the clinical management of patients with various TMDs. Dentists and other specialists from North America, Australia, Europe, China, and Israel discuss the biomechanics of normal and abnormal TMJ function, TMJ and masticatory myofascial pain, diagnostic technology and disease markers, pharmacologic management, tissue engineering of joint components, and topics such as the relation of abnormal joint function to joint pathology, the prediction of treatment responsiveness, how sleep disorders affect facial pain, and the role of comorbid conditions in pain response and management. Other chapters address pharmacotherapeutics, including new analgesic drugs and drugs for managing neuropathic pain and stopping or reversing degenerative joint disease. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)