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."

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?

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.

Living with temporomandibular joint disorder is scary enough - the pain, the stiffness, the ringing ears. Add Halloween and its candy to the mix, and you’ve got a real nightmare on your hands. But there’s no need to be afraid of Halloween when you have TMJ disorder! Just follow these tips to survive the most frightful time of year without making your TMJ symptoms worse.

Studies have shown that if you have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, leading a stressful life can make your symptoms a lot worse. Unfortunately for most of us, stress is a way of life - especially for women in their childbearing years. TMJ disorder seems to affect a disproportionate number of young women in their childbearing years, with an estimated 90 percent of TMJ disorder sufferers falling into this gender and age group. So, what’s a girl to do to get relief from stress - and TMJ disorder - when you barely get a minute to yourself?

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’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.

 As we age, it’s normal to experience many changes to our face and bodies that, let's be honest, aren’t too desirable. We slow down physically, our hair turns gray, and as our skin loses collagen, it becomes thinner and less elastic. Thankfully there are many options out there to help stave off the ravages of time for as long as possible. Staying physically fit can help keep us active long into our senior years, and a relaxing trip to the day spa can rejuvenate our spirits while it corrects our hair color. We can even eat a low-sugar diet, wear lotion with an SPF or get cosmetic treatments like Botox or fillers to help maintain a youthful glow. But sometimes these preventative measures just aren’t enough.

 According to a 2015 study in the journal American Family Physician, an estimated 15 to 20 percent of Americans suffer from the condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder, also known as TMJ disorder, or simply TMJD. But while so many people suffer from the often-debilitating symptoms of this joint disorder, the study found that only about 5 percent of sufferers seek help for the condition.

Fans of the Bravo reality show "The Real Housewives of New York" may have noticed something a little different about the show’s breakout star, Bethenny Frankel. Famous for her outspoken opinions and strong jaw, Frankel’s mandibles have been looking a lot smaller in recent years. For her part, Frankel denies getting plastic surgery. Instead, she claims Botox is to thank for her softer new appearance, and the reason why may surprise you. When most people think of Botox, they think of the cosmetic medication’s paralyzing effects on facial wrinkles and fine lines, but more and more, people like Frankel are using Botox to treat something completely different: TMJ disorder.For cosmetic use, Botox works by temporarily paralyzing the muscles of the treated area, and blocking the signal from the nerves to the muscles. This causes the treated muscles to relax, smoothing and softening the wrinkles. When injected into the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, Botox relaxes the TMJ and nearby jaw muscles, causing them to weaken and alleviating the hyperactivity of the TMJ muscles that could be contributing to the TMJ pain the patient experiences. But while patients of this procedure like Frankel have found relief with Botox, Dr. Alexandra George of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania cautions that Botox may not be the miracle TMJ treatment it is purported to be.

According to the American Tinnitus Association, a staggering fifty million Americans experience the constant, noticeable, ringing or buzzing in their ears known as tinnitus. Tinnitus can range in severity from slightly annoying to bothersome, and for a small portion of the population, it can be unbearable. But while there are many potential causes for tinnitus, one such cause may surprise you: temporomandibular joint disorder or TMD. We spoke to Dr. Alexandra George of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about why TMD and tinnitus often go hand-in-hand and what you can do about it.TMD is a condition of the temporomandibular joint muscles of the jaw. It is estimated that this puzzling condition affects approximately 10 million people a year in America. There is no one cause for TMD nor is there one tried and true treatment. TMD can be caused by any number of things, such as genetics, accidental injury or improper bite. TMD can also cause a wide variety of symptoms, from jaw soreness and tightness to headaches, neck, sinus, and eye pain- and even tinnitus-based hearing loss, which scientists believe could be caused by the TMJ muscles throwing the nerves in the ears out of balance.