A man in Pune, India, recently made headlines for an oral surgery he received at the MA Rangoonwala College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre. But this wasn’t your typical oral surgery. The man, who is only 39 years old, had been unable to open and close his mouth for 38 years due to an injury he received as a 1-year-old. As a result, he developed a condition called temporomandibular joint ankylosis, a very rare disorder where the bones in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) fuse to the skull with fibrous, bony tissue, making it nearly impossible to open and close the mouth.

You may have heard of the children's game Crocodile Dentist. But would you let an actual crocodile treat your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder? For most people the answer to that would be a resounding "no." But that could all change if an experimental treatment from Australia is successful.

Having crooked teeth can make even the most confident person insecure about his or her smile. In fact, a recent study found that 81 percent of American adults are insecure about their smile - and about 28 percent of them won’t even smile in pictures! But poor self-esteem isn’t the only problem caused by crooked teeth. Believe it or not, having a bad bite can contribute to many other ailments you may have never considered.

What do traveling and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder have in common? Easy: Both are stressful, and both require a bit of forward thinking to be comfortable. Whether you’re planning a trip to Grandma’s or winter break on an island, traveling with TMJ disorder can be a debacle if you aren’t prepared. Before you pack that suitcase and head out for fun in the sun (or on the slopes!), check out this TMJ disorder travel checklist.

An assistant professor at the Tipton, Georgia-based Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College recently won a $2,700 grant to study temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ disorder for short. The assistant professor, Leslie Pryor-McIntosh, won the Gail Dillard Faculty Enrichment Fund award for her research paper, "You Are What You Eat: The Effects of Chewing on Bone Health in the Temporomandibular Joint."

A woman in Charleston, West Virginia, is garnering national attention after suing a snack-food brand when she broke her tooth on a safety pin found in one of the company's products. The woman alleges that her implanted crown broke when she bit into the safety pin while snacking and watching television, and that she subsequently suffered loss of wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and temporomandibular joint disorder.

Patients with the painful chronic muscular disorder fibromyalgia may soon get some relief if the findings of a new study are put to good use. Fibromyalgia is categorized by pain and tenderness in the body; the condition can even appear in conjunction with secondary conditions such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome and migraine headaches.

A research study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association details new insights into the painful condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ disorder. The study outlines two rounds of research conducted by a team of chiropractic specialists, headed by James W. DeVocht, DC, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research in Davenport, Iowa. The initial research was conducted in 2003 using nine volunteer patients. In this study, DeVocht and his team attempted to treat TMJ disorder with chiropractic adjustment.

Believe it or not, 2019 is just around the corner - yes, really! - which means it's time to tie up loose ends from 2018. For some, this means using up the remaining money in their flexible spending account before that money is gone on January 1, 2019. But what do you spend it on?

When you think of the holiday season, there are so many wonderful things that come to mind, like family, friends, fun and, of course, all that delicious food. But for some people with TMJ disorder, that last one can take the joy out of the holidays, because some foods are simply too painful to eat. If that sounds like you, don’t despair. There are plenty of delicious foods you can enjoy this holiday season that won’t aggravate your TMJ disorder symptoms. Here are just a few (and a few to avoid, too).

You may have never heard of the condition patulous eustachian tube before this past spring, when pop star Celine Dion cited it as the reason she was indefinitely shutting down her Las Vegas show, but for the estimated 1 percent of the population who suffer from it, the condition is all too familiar.

When researchers at Columbia College of Dental Medicine took a closer look at the cartilage of the temporomandibular joint recently, they realized this cartilage could do some pretty impressive things.

With the warm days and late nights of summer finally over, many people are spending more time indoors. But for some, there are painful reminders of summer lingering in their bodies - reminders that may never go away. That’s because an estimated 30,000 people each year contract Lyme disease, most commonly in the summer months. Worse yet, they may not even know they have it for months, years or ever. Further complicating matters, Lyme disease symptoms are often so vague they mimic other illnesses, causing patients to be repeatedly misdiagnosed.

It’s not uncommon to experience a lot of weird side effects when you have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. Things like popping and clicking jaws, ringing ears and migraine auras are all par for the TMJ disorder course. But one symptom often causes a bit more alarm than others: bumps or lumps under the jaw.

With Thanksgiving almost here and Christmas not far behind, it’s safe to say the stress of the holidays is about to kick in. But unlike holidays past, you don’t need to let your TMJ disorder symptoms flare up due to stress and your reaction to it. Try these tips for keeping your cool under pressure and keeping your TMJ symptoms at bay.

Cervical dystonia, also referred to as spasmodic torticollis, is defined as a rare brain disorder that causes unusual positioning or movement of the neck and head muscles. When a person has spasmodic dystonia, his or her head movements will in turn cause the positioning of the head to be somewhat off. According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases, cervical dystonia is a focal dystonia that usually begins in middle age and typically affects more women than men.

When you suffer from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, getting relief from the pain can become a major priority. But unfortunately, there isn’t always a whole lot you can do. Pain pills only work so well, and physical therapy and neuromuscular orthodontics work well but may take time. If you are looking for ways to get immediate relief or lessen the amount of discomfort your TMJ disorder symptoms cause you, try these lifestyle tips to help create a more comfortable jaw, naturally.

Before the Federal Drug Administration enacted the Medical Device Regulation act in 1976, the medical device marketplace was a completely different space than it is today. Prior to this act, manufacturers of medical devices were not required to prove their devices were safe before they were sold to the public, causing many medical injuries.

When researchers in the University at Buffalo Department of Pathology and Animal Sciences decided to figure out what causes the jaw to grow and change over time, they were expecting the answer to be the long-held theory that it was the size and type of the animal’s prey that drove these evolutionary changes. But instead what the research team found was that the animal’s diet likely had nothing to do with it. So, what is responsible for these changes - and how can the answer help modern-day humans treat an increasingly common problem?

When actor Burt Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, fellow actors flooded social media with messages of sadness and admiration for the late actor. One tribute in particular, from Reynolds’ ex-partner, actress Sally Field, inspired the media to read Fields’ new autobiography, In Pieces, for further insight into their relationship. What they discovered was a loving yet complex relationship that was further complicated by a medical condition Reynolds suffered from.