Fall 2006 - College of Dental Medicine - Columbia University

Dr. Uyanik listens to a PainCenter patient describe hersymptoms.work harder to bring the teeth together, which mayinduce muscle spasms in the head, neck and jaw.Clenching or grinding teeth (bruxism), trauma tothe head and neck, or working under poorergonomic conditions, can all provoke TMJ pain.Pain can develop in ears, eyes, sinuses, cheeks, or theside of the head, and clicking – or even locking –may strike while moving the jaw. Psychological factorslike stress, depression, and panic attacks canalso play an important role in the etiology and maintenanceof orofacial pain symptoms. When jawpain deprives patients of their ability to chew, swallow,and sleep, they experience a debilitating deficitin their quality of life and may become withdrawn ordepressed. It is even possible for chronic orofacialpain to outlive being defined as a symptom and takeon the role of a disorder. Chronic orofacial pain suffererscould also become more susceptible and irritableto new stimuli.While the clinical management of temporomandibulardisorders has progressed rapidly fromthe 1920s to today, its future should be evenbrighter as scientists focus their efforts on identifyingthe biological, psychological, and genetic riskdeterminants that lead to muscle and joint pain.The National Institute of Dental and CraniofacialResearch (NIDCR), directed by Lawrence Tabak ’77,“... recognizes a unique opportunity ... with theemergence of genomic, proteomic, and other powerfulinformation-generating technologies, to definein greater detail the genetic and molecular basis ofpain [which should allow] future clinicians to moreselectively and efficiently control the pain process.”