TMJ Association

04/21/2026

Pharmacogenetics of Orofacial Pain - Part of the 2025–2026 Harvard Interdisciplinary Pain & Headache Rounds

Join Amy Pasternak, PharmD (University of Michigan) for a discussion on how genetics can influence medication response in orofacial pain and headache care and how pharmacogenetic insights can help guide safer, more individualized prescribing.

Open to clinicians, trainees, researchers, patients, and families worldwide. CME/CE available (separate registration required).

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_T70hqkTKS_Gx9Ki9msR7jw

04/14/2026

The TMJ Association was recently contacted by Dr. Patricia Hoffman, a pediatric rheumatology fellow at the Hospital for Special Surgery, who is conducting a study with the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance. This study involves a brief, one-time survey. More information is provided below:

04/09/2026

The University of Southern California has launched BETTER-TMD, a five-year project collecting real-world data from up to 5,000 patients to improve diagnosis and personalize treatment decisions. By combining patient-reported outcomes with advanced data analysis, this program aims to improve the standard of care for people living with temporomandibular disorders.

Learn more: https://tmj.org/usc-aims-to-develop-the-better-tmd-project/

BETTER-TMD stands for Broader Evaluation of TMD Treatment Efficacy & Response—and is the main feature of their TMD IMPACT grant. Over the next five years, the team will gather detailed information from up to 5,000 TMD patients seen at the USC orofacial pain clinic and private practices. Using a cu...

03/31/2026

Yesterday we attended a fantastic session at the Orthopedic Research Society meeting titled: Decoding Musculoskeletal Pain: Advances in Imaging and Translational Tools for the IVD, TMJ, and Knee. It was great to see so many people in attendance at this session including the NIH/NIAMS Acting Director. There was such great enthusiasm among attendees. A number of the speakers focused on their research related to temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders.

03/30/2026

Did you know that people with are more likely to be diagnosed with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), and vice versa?

In our new comorbidities article, we dive into the connection between migraine and , including symptoms, treatments, and helpful resources from our allied partner TMJ Association, Ltd.

🔗 Read the full article:
https://www.migrainedisorders.org/migraine-and-tmd-disorders/

03/30/2026

We are at the Orthopedic Research Society Meeting in Charlotte NC. This is the second year the temporomandibular joint is being featured in talks and poster sessions.

03/23/2026

TMJ patients: heads up! CGRP-targeting treatments for migraine are being prescribed more often, and we’re sharing what you need to know.

Dr. Sait Ashina from Harvard leads the 2025–2026 Rounds Series, exploring:
• How CGRP treatments work
• Safety, tolerability, and low risk of medication overuse
• Future approaches and benefits over traditional therapies

Register to attend: https://conta.cc/4uMrbkz

03/17/2026

Upcoming Educational Seminar: Donald Nixdorf, DDS, MS. Dr. Nixdorf will discuss the limits of current diagnostic approaches for orofacial pain, how overlapping pain states can affect accuracy, and the key role of physical exams.

This is a free session and CE/CME credits are available. Register here: https://conta.cc/3NtJOJ1

02/17/2026

Educational Opportunity: Harvard Interdisciplinary Pain and Headache Rounds

Dr. Michael Schatman is a clinical psychologist who has spent the past 40 years working in multidisciplinary chronic pain management. He currently serves on the faculties of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, & Pain Medicine and the Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health, both at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Schatman is the author of over 280 journal articles and book chapters on various aspects of chronic pain management, and lectures regularly on pain management on local, national, and international bases. Much of his current research is on interventional pain treatment outcomes and pain physician training. Dr. Schatman is a member of the Editorial Boards of numerous journals, and for the past 13 years, he has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pain Research.

Zoom Registration Link: https://conta.cc/3Owauci

02/10/2026

https://tmj.org/continuing-education-opportunity-current-status-of-pain-medicine-and-the-construct-of-spectrum-disorders/

Learning Objectives1. Identify the three mechanisms causing pain2. Understand the neurobiology of nociplastic pain3. Understand how to move towards treating pain based on the underlying mechanisms Target AudiencePhysicians, dentists, psychologists, nurses, students, residents, and fellows with speci...