Slogan / Motto
Smarter Patients | Smarter Healthcare

Mission Statement
To use a "Patient's Point of View" perspective to help patients communicate with their doctors more effectively and improve their overall healthcare experience.

Special Areas of Interest
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJD) and the jaw position's impact on speech clarity.  Oral Placement Therapy (OPT).

Expertise
My area of expertise from a "Patient's Point of View" would be Dentistry/TMJ plus the speech challenges that these jaw and bite problems sometimes represent. Over the years I have seen a multitude of dentists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, speech therapists, neurologists and other health professionals who all had an opinion about my TMJ/bite problem. I AM NOT A DOCTOR...but would purely be a patients point of view type person. I "get it" when people say they tried to explain to their dentist what their TMJ/bite problem is and that they are misunderstood. I can listen to people's trials and tribulations and there is a good chance I have been down that road before. I can make suggestions as to what people can do at home, or what questions to ask their doctor or dentist when they visit. I will try and recall information or experiences that may be helpful to you.

Experience in the area
About 25 years ago, I had my wisdom teeth out and since then my bite has never felt "normal." For whatever reason, the first sensation I remember was not that my bite was off.....but rather that my normal tongue and speech patterns had been impeded. I spent years going to different dentists, who lumped me into their generic version of what they knew about TMJ or gleaned from a three day dental conference. The majority of dentists believe they can treat TMJ, but only those whose primary focus is TMJ treatment, are really any good at it. Any dentist, can take an impression of your teeth, send that impression off to the lab and have them make a night guard. That is the easy part. The tricky part is what the dentist does with the night guard, once receiving it from the lab. The dentist has to do a "fitting" where they tailor the night guard to be evenly balanced and comfortable in your mouth. Sometimes it can take a few visits, because further adjustments need to be made to the night guard appliance, to get it just right. I have found that dentists, who have had the most practice, do a better job at fitting your appliance. It's almost like an art form.

Special Areas of Interest

• Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJD) and the jaw position's impact on speech clarity.  Oral Placement Therapy (OPT).

• Orofacial Myology Disorder (OMD) - I have recently been researching a specialty within Speech Pathology called "Orofacial Myology Disorder (OMD)". OMD is the establishment of correct functional activities of the tongue, lips & jaw. It has been my experience that most dentists are not aware of the impact that TMJ can have on normal speech patterns. I am looking to spread awareness regarding OMD to patients & encourage them to seek proper treatment.

• Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) - Oral Placement Therapy is a speech therapy which utilizes a combination of: (1) auditory stimulation, (2) visual stimulation and (3) tactile stimulation to the mouth to improve speech clarity. I found a great website....www.talktools.com. As I learn more about OPT, I will post information here.

Recommended Publications

• "The TMJ Healing Plan" by Cynthia Peterson. Excellent self help book with plenty of exercises. This is the best book that I have found on the subject of TMJ.

• "Assessment and Treatment of the Jaw" by Sara Rosenfeld - Johnson. I am currently reading and using some of the techniques presented in this book.

Recommended Websites
https://patientbabble.squarespace.com/jonathans-blog