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.

Do you wish your smile was just a little bit straighter and whiter? Do you also wish you could take a tropical vacation while getting the smile of your dreams? How much would you pay for this fantasy treatment? If dental tourism packages are to be believed, less than you might pay here in the United States at a board-certified licensed dentist. But buyer beware: You may be getting more than you bargained for - and not in a good way.

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.

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.

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.

Patients with osteoarthritis who use a glucosamine supplement to treat their temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder naturally may be in for a disappointment. In a new study in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, patients who used glucosamine supplements as an all-natural way to treat TMJ pain experienced no greater pain relief than those who took ibuprofen to treat the same symptoms.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder is a medical condition wherein the temporomandibular joint of the jaw becomes misaligned and causes pain throughout the face, head, neck and even the back. Patients with the disorder often have trouble being diagnosed because of the range of symptoms – which, in addition to the aforementioned pain, can include tinnitus, clicking or popping of the jaw, teeth grinding (bruxism), migraine headaches, and muscle aches. But one symptom in particular is much more obviously related to TMJ disorder - and a lot harder to deal with.

It’s a widely known fact that sometimes when our bodies ache, stretching can go a long way toward reducing pain naturally. That’s why so many people find relief using things like physical therapy and yoga. But when your temporomandibular joint starts hurting, there’s not exactly a yoga class for that - but there are some exercises you can try at home to help strengthen the temporomandibular joint and lessen the pain of TMJ disorder.

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists, each year, Americans spend about $2.75 billion on cosmetic dentistry services. The kicker: Most of that cost is probably not covered by insurance, and even when plans do cover procedures such as veneers or braces, they may not cover all of the associated costs. With the average cost of braces hovering around $5,000 per person, but going as high as $7,500, and the average dental insurance policy only covering about $2,500 for a lifetime, that can equate to a significant out-of-pocket investment.

Flossing your teeth is kind of like taking out the trash: It’s time consuming, it’s not always pleasant, but you’ve got to do it if you want a clean, healthy mouth - or home, in the case of the trash. In fact, flossing is so important that it is responsible for removing about 40 percent of the plaque and bacteria that sits on our teeth causing gum disease and cavities. Thankfully, there are many products out there to make flossing your teeth easier and more comfortable. But not all flossing products are created equally. Here’s why one tried-and-true product may be causing you more harm than good.

When you have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ disorder), it can sometimes feel like everything hurts. From your jaw to your ears, teeth, head, neck and even back and shoulders, pain from TMJ disorder can radiate throughout your upper body and disrupt your whole life. But how can you get relief in your back if the pain is coming from your jaw? Believe it or not, studies have shown that while the pain you may be feeling in your back is directly connected to your jaw, there may be more to it than that – it could be your posture!

If you’ve never heard of the connective tissue disorder systemic sclerosis before, you’re not alone. That’s because fewer than 5,000 cases of the extremely rare autoimmune disease - for which there is no cure - are diagnosed each year. But while systemic sclerosis isn’t exactly a household name, the low number of cases should never underscore the severity of this debilitating and sometimes fatal illness.

A recent article in an Irish newspaper is causing quite a stir here in the United States for claiming that a new form of ear insert can alleviate some of the symptoms of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. The catch: It’s from right here in America, and most people here have never heard of it. It’s a custom-fit device called Cerezen, and it sits just inside the ear canal like a hearing aid might. But instead of helping you hear, Cerezen claims to help stop bruxism (also known as teeth grinding) and alleviate pain-causing pressure on the muscles and joints affected by TMJ disorder.

Smiling. For some of us, it comes as naturally as breathing, and believe it or not, it has almost as many benefits, too! For example, studies have shown that being smiled at by a stranger can improve your mood - and make you want to smile back. Smiling has even been found to boost the immune system, and people who smile often live an average of seven years longer than people who don’t. With all that’s known about the benefits of a simple smile, it’s a wonder more of us aren’t grinning ear-to-ear all the time.

When pop musician Lady Gaga was forced to back out of her appearance at Brazil’s Rock in Rio concert last year due to what she described as "severe pain," her admission may have done more to raise awareness for the condition fibromyalgia than any advertising campaign could have hoped to do.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who suffer from temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD, you'd probably do just about anything to get fast relief. That could explain the soaring popularity of a controversial new TMD treatment, which uses the cosmetic injectable Botox to stop the temporomandibular joint from clenching up, helping to ease the pain and stiffness caused by TMD.

Temporomandibular joint disorder (or TMD) affects approximately 10 million Americans, but treating the disorder can often be a challenge. That’s because many people don’t even realize they have TMD in the first place. Temporomandibular joint disorder occurs in the jaw and affects the TMJ, jaw bones and many of the connective muscles. Symptoms of TMD can include headaches, jaw pain, jaw clicking, teeth grinding, neck pain, difficulty chewing, difficulty speaking and difficulty opening and closing the mouth. But many TMD sufferers never realize they have the condition, because the symptoms come and go, and some, like teeth grinding and jaw clicking, can happen without you even realizing it.