I am a clencher and a grinder, nighttime and daytime. For years that meant morning headaches, sore temples, and a jaw that wouldn't quite let go.
What follows is the short version of what I tried, what hurt, and what finally helped.
A patient first, a practitioner second. TMJDirectory was built out of years of trial, error, relief, regression, and the conviction that TMJD deserves more than one tool, one prescription, one answer.
I am a clencher and a grinder, nighttime and daytime. For years that meant morning headaches, sore temples, and a jaw that wouldn't quite let go.
What follows is the short version of what I tried, what hurt, and what finally helped.
Here is what I tried, in the order it happened, and the honest outcome of each, the kind I wish I'd had before I started.
Saved my enamel. Did not stop the grinding underneath. Still wear one, as a tool, not a cure.
Migraines I had never had before. A crooked smile that lasted three months. The relief, when it came, was brief. The side effects were not.
The first thing that gave me real relief. Hands-in-the-mouth work on the soft tissue. It sent me deeper into the underbelly of TMJD, learning everything I could so I could help my clients. Now the core of how I treat and teach.
Trigger-point work in the masseter, temporalis, SCM, and upper traps from a physical therapist. Fast to ease a flare-up and interrupt the pattern. A useful tool in the kit.
A failed deviated septum surgery in 2007. The older I get, the more of a mouth breather I become.
I was diagnosed with TMD fourteen years ago. Relief finally came from an unexpected place: a training I took gave me surprising, almost instant results. That sent me deeper into the work.
I built Advanced Care Massage, Louisville's first massage practice dedicated to TMJD. I interned with doctors and shadowed their work, then began teaching other massage therapists what I had learned. The deeper I went, the more I understood how multifaceted TMJD really is. One thing works for one person and not for another, and the map keeps getting bigger, so I never stopped learning.
Today I own Relief Massage Method in Kansas City. And I created TMJDirectory to bring every provider who treats TMD into one place, so the next person spends far less time than I did finding the right help.
My career timeline: the courses, internships, and degrees behind the work, grouped the way I think about them.
Scroll to follow the path
Bruxism and the Adult Population, Fernanda Yanez Regonesi, DDS, MS
Jeffrey P. Okeson, DMD
Isabel Moreno Hay, DDS, PhD, ABOP, ABDSM
Jeffrey P. Okeson, DMD
Dr. Bryan H. Burdette, DMD, MS
Dee Vickers · CE Massage Education
Don Ash · CST Alliance
Matthew Howe · Massage & Bodywork Professional
Matthew Howe · Massage & Bodywork Professional
Matthew Howe · Massage & Bodywork Professional
Louisville, KY
University of Louisville
The jaw sits at the intersection of dentistry, ENT, neurology, posture, sleep, and stress. I wanted to build something that would benefit patients, clients, and providers. A collaboration between everyone so we can learn together.
I had a brutal time with Botox; I have clients it has genuinely helped. The job is to match the patient to the modality, not the other way around, and to keep adjusting.
My favorite outcome is a client who needs me less. Self-massage, breath, sleep posture, awareness, the parts of this work I want every TMJD patient to walk away owning.
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