Course Description & Speaker Bio
It is Time to Rethink TMD and Occlusion
Presented by Jim McKee, DDS
Credit: 1 CE hour
Course Description:
Most dentists avoid treating TMD patients because we are not confident diagnosing or treating pain problems in the TM joints. While we assume TMD patients present with pain, the far more common clinical presentation of a TMD patient is some type of malocclusion.
Class II occlusions, canted occlusal planes, anterior open bites, cross bites, overbites, overjets, facial asymmetries, compressed airway anatomy and worn teeth are all examples of conditions that are the result of anatomic changes in the TM joints.
The clinical reality is that every dentist treats TMD patients every day…we just don’t know we are treating TMD patients.
Since we are treating TMD patients daily, it is a good time to rethink TMD. If we can recognize the role
TM joints play in malocclusions, we can increase the predictability of our occlusal, orthodontic, restorative, orthognathic, and airway treatment. If we recognize the common clinical presentations of joint based malocclusions, we can develop a treatment
planning protocol that will help the patient understand the advantages and disadvantages of different treatment options.
This presentation will concentrate on patients you see everyday in your practice. We will discuss how to recognize joint based malocclusions during the clinical exam and what diagnostic tools are necessary to confidently assess the risk
factors at the joint level. We will also present a treatment planning protocol that can be used for any patient to help clarify some of the confusion related to the patient who requires restorative treatment and also has structural changes in the
TM joints. This presentation will have a strong emphasis on treatment planning through case studies of patients with injured TM joints.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the optimal occlusal design help increase the longevity of our treatment.
- Understand normal soft tissue and hard tissue anatomy in the TM joint.
- Recognize how structural changes in the TM joints impact malocclusions and airway anatomy.
- Understand how TM joint imaging with MRI and CBCT provides information to develop a treatment planning protocol that will result in increased clinical predictability and case acceptance for the restorative-TMD patient.
About the Speaker
Jim McKee, DDS, was in private practice in Downers Grove, Illinois. Jim had a restoratively-based practice with an emphasis on occlusion and temporomandibular joint disorders. In addition to private practice, Jim is a published author who has lectured nationally and internationally for more than 25 years. Jim provides a new perspective on occlusion and TM joints that helps increase the predictability of occlusal, orthodontic, restorative, orthognathic, and airway treatment options for both the patient and the dentist. He is the founder of the Chicago Study Club program and has extensive experience in directing study clubs in the United States and Canada. He is a Resident Faculty member at Spear Education in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jim is a past-president of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry and the American Equilibration Society.