ICPA’s Latest Clinical Series Episode Focuses On Simplifying TMJ Challenges In Daily Dental Practice

Mumbai, July 12: India’s leading Pharma Company in the oral healthcare segment – ICPA Health Products Ltd (ICPA), hosted its latest Clinical Series episode featuring Dr Avinash Kshar, MDS, TMJ Specialist on ‘Simplifying TMJ for General Dentists: TMD Management in Daily Practice’. The 26th episode attempted to simplify and offer a systematic way of examination of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) and differential diagnosis of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD) for General Dental Practitioners. Dr Kshar sighted several cases from his own experience of over 22 years in the diagnoses and research based management of TMD. The episode highlighted the fact that TMDs are the most common reason for patients seeking dental care other than for dental pain and that even general dental practitioners can effectively treat the same.

By sharing his own experiences and expertise, Dr Kshar provided valuable insights into the management of TMD. Dr Kshar informed participants that TMDs constitute the second most common musculoskeletal condition, after chronic low back pain. He emphasized on dentists, as physicians of the masticatory system, to evaluate TMJ, muscles of mastication and occlusion in daily clinical examination for TMD. He informed the Diagnostic Criteria for DC TMD as tenderness of masticatory muscles suggests myofascial pain; history of clicking with deflection suggesting internal disc displacement without reduction; clicking with deviation suggesting internal disc displacement with reduction and, crepitus and bony changes in the TMJ suggesting osteoarthritis.

Dr Khar advised routinely using soft or hard night-guards without anterior and canine guidance as being less effective in bruxism and TMD management. Full coverage occlusal splint with anterior and canine guidance is the best intraoral splint for TMDs and is a non-medicinal, non-surgical, and physiologic way to treat TMDs. He also asked participating dentists to use Anterior Deprogrammers for TMD diagnosis and not for treatment and using 40-micron articulating paper for occlusal adjustments in restorations, crown and bridge.

Dr Avinash Kshar is the Director of an exclusive TMJ Centre based in Mumbai and, is also a professor and course director of TMD to FMR and occlusal splint therapy workshop.

For the benefit of dentists who may have missed out, the session is available across ICPA’s various social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

‘ICPA Clinical Series’ is an initiative to address specific clinical challenges dentists face in their everyday practice. Themed ‘Each Episode – One Clinical Challenge’, the series is moderated by ICPA’s Head of Research & Innovations – Dr Rajeev Chitguppi. Each session in the series has a guest speaker chosen from specialists from various domains of dentistry.