This article discusses Medical insurance billing for temporomandibular Disorder treatment, which often times includes TMD appliances, as it can be very difficult and problematic for many dental offices. However, having a grasp of how medical insurances work and knowing what each individual insurance company is looking for, including billing codes, nomenclature and documentation, can simplify the process and lessen the reimbursement.

Dentists often treat patients with chronic facial pain. This article discusses the current literature discussing the neurophysiology of central pain that is thought to be a primary cause of pain persistence. The problem of chronic facial pain is complex and those managing this type of pain need to take this complexity into account in prescribing intervention.

TMJ corticosteroid intra-articular injection is sometimes contemplated for the management of TMJ pain. However there are very few guidelines available to advise and inform the TMJ specialist, MD, or Dentist treating a patient with TMJ disease when management should include an injection of corticosteroid. And the guidelines that have been published with respect to the appropriate dosage and technique are woefully inadequate. This article reviews the latest studies that may be helpful in establishing treatment guidelines.

Among the main risks associated with delivery of a local anesthetic, to block to produce numbing of the mandibular teeth, is injury to the inferior alveolar or the lingual nerve. The result of such injury is often persistent neuropathic pain, dyesthesia, or anesthesia involving the distribution of the injured nerve. This article discusses a number of studies that assessed the effects of several anesthetics when causing such injury.

In May of 2010 an article authored by A Memon, et al, was published in Acta Oncol that describes the results of a case control study of thyroid cancer and dental x-rays. The implication of the study is that exposure to dental x-rays may be associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer. This published article makes an important contribution to the scientific understanding of thyroid cancer and its potential link to dental x-rays. Since it has also generated extensive reviews in the lay press touting its results, it may be worthwhile to look closer at the research methodology (the study design) as well as the other research exploring this issue.