Your voice matters—now more than ever. TMDs affect millions, yet research remains severely underfunded. Help change that in just a few minutes.
Visit https://www.democracy.io, enter your address, choose your elected officials, and personalize the letter with your TMD experience. Urge Congress to support critical TMD research at the NIH and FDA. Every voice counts—make yours heard today!
Please note: We’ve revised our approach after learning that some elected officials may not count prewritten/form letters. Instead, we are providing suggested talking points to help guide you in writing a personalized message to your elected officials. Your unique voice can make a difference.
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Introduce yourself and state that you are a constituent living with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs). Briefly share your personal experience—when your symptoms began, how they affect your daily life, and any specific challenges you’ve faced.
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Describe the financial burden of your condition. Include out-of-pocket costs, insurance denials, or employment changes. Be specific if you’ve had to stop working or sacrifice career opportunities.
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Explain any difficulties finding proper care or specialists, or the lack of effective treatment options. This helps illustrate the gaps in the healthcare system for people with TMDs.
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Talk about why more research is urgently needed and express concern about proposed cuts to NIH or FDA. Emphasize how funding could improve care for you and millions of others. (Example: We desperately need federally funded research to understand the causes of TMDs and to develop safe, effective treatments. Any reduction in NIH or FDA support would set us back even further.)
Closing:
Politely urge the lawmaker to protect and expand funding for TMD research and support strong, science-based public health institutions. Thank them for their time and consideration.
I have suffered with TMJ for many years. I had 7 surgeries and finally bilateral jaw replacements which worked really well. The problem now is I have damage to nerves due to so many surgeries and it feels like I have a toothache all of the time. Please help us by funding our cause.
Hi! I’m CeCe from Massachusetts. I suffer from chronic temporomandibular joint disorders and have been struggling for over 3 years(TMDs).
The financial burden of your condition has been overwhelming as it’s a disability that makes it difficult to work.
It’s a painful condition that requires intensive research to find specialists. Effective treatment options are challenging, as surgery often makes things worse. There are huge gaps in the healthcare system.
For instance, a MORA mouthguard costs thousands of dollars & is not covered by Masshealth public health care.
A MOUTHGUARD SHOULD NEVER BE THIS EXPENSIVE OUT OF POCKET.
Research is absolutely urgently needed, and I’m deeply concerned about proposed cuts to NIH or FDA.
Funding can help improve care for me and millions of others. Federally funded research can help us understand the causes of TMDs and to develop safe, effective treatments. Any reduction in NIH or FDA support would set us back and hurt the lives of many.
Please help us protect and expand funding for TMD research and support strong, science-based public health institutions. Thanks so much for your time and consideration!!!
I have TMJ for over two plus years. I suffer from jaw pain all the time. My insurance does pay anything. Why did they put this under DENTAL? Should have be under MEDICAL. I DO NOT MONEY FOR THIS. I am 76 years old women, can not afford this. My husband and I worked, now retired. 30 years ago I became disabled. We are just trying to hold on to are home. I pray everyday for them to change this to MEDICAL.