A major role of nonprofit health organizations like The TMJ Association is to promote awareness and research on conditions affecting a large number of patients. In keeping with this mission, TMJA President Allen Cowley and Association Administrator Deanne Clare attended the annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 30 of this year.
This marked only the second consecutive year that the society included the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in its annual meeting program. The inclusion is particularly significant because it reflects a growing recognition that the TM joint should be studied alongside other musculoskeletal joints in the body rather than a part falling solely within the traditional boundaries of dentistry. Historically, many approaches to TMJ disorders focused primarily on dental and bite relationships, including changing tooth positioning. However, the temporomandibular joint is among the most complex joints in the human body. It is a uniquely paired joint with extensive nerve involvement that plays essential roles in breathing, eating, speaking, and making facial expressions.
The standing-room-only attendance of some 150 people at the workshop reflected a clear and welcome shift to integrating TMJ research with broader musculoskeletal and chronic pain research. The featured workshop, “Decoding Musculoskeletal Pain: Advances in Imaging and Translational Tools for the Intervertebral Disc (IVD), TMJ, and Knee,” brought leading experts from across the country to discuss new approaches to understanding and treating chronic joint pain.
Organized by Kyle Allen, PhD (University of Florida); Alejandro Almarza, PhD (University of Pittsburgh), who also heads the TMJ research team awarded a five-year TMJ IMPACT grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at NIH; Dmitriy Sheyn, PhD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center); and Dino Samartzis, DSc, PhD (Rush University), the session focused on the challenge of chronic pain affecting the spine, jaw, and knee, and the urgent need to turn scientific discoveries into better diagnostics and treatments.
The session also focused on a major challenge in musculoskeletal health: chronic pain affecting the spine, jaw (TMJ), and knee. While science has made important progress in understanding how these tissues become damaged, there remains a critical need to translate these discoveries into better diagnostic tools and treatments. A key area of focus was how nerve pathways signaling joint pain change over time with injury, aging, and disease.
Presenters highlighted new imaging techniques that make tissues transparent and reconstruct them in 3D, revealing previously unseen nerve networks involved in chronic pain. The workshop also showcased emerging translational research tools, including advanced animal models and laboratory systems built from human stem cells, designed to study joint injury, inflammation, and pain progression. Together, these approaches are helping bridge the gap between fundamental discoveries and real-world therapies for patients.
Speakers included Dino Samartzis, who provided an overview of spine pain research; Dmitriy Sheyn, who discussed outcomes in disc-related back pain; Candace Floyd, who described animal models of chronic pain and inflammation; Alejandro Almarza, who presented new 3D imaging methods for studying nerve structures in the knee and TMJ; Hai Yao, who discussed links between joint structure, function, and pain; Kyle Allen, who described how biological changes relate to patient pain experiences; and Hang Lin, who presented laboratory-based systems for studying musculoskeletal pain outside the body.
NIAMS Attendance
In addition to the researchers at the workshop, TMJA representatives also invited Dr. Anna Mazzacco, Acting Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), to attend the TMJ-focused symposium associated with the workshop. She participated in the session, met with TMJ researchers, and expressed strong enthusiasm for the work and its potential to improve patient care.
On to Washington, D.C.
Following the Orthopaedic Research Society meeting, Dr. Cowley and Ms. Clare traveled to Washington, D.C., where they joined their colleague Christin Veasley and met with a health legislative staff member from the office of Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin. These meetings help update Congressional offices on important health issues, scientific advances, emerging data, and the continuing need for TMJ research. Congressional committee reports can, in turn, include language recommending that federal agencies undertake specific actions using funding proposed in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The discussions focused on continued support for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reinforcing the importance of sustained federal investment in TMJ research.
Additionally, TMJA representatives met with Dr. Jennifer Cyriacq-Webster, Acting Director of NIDCR, who expressed encouragement for continued collaboration and progress in the field.
Together, these engagements reflect meaningful momentum in both scientific discovery and federal advocacy, underscoring the growing recognition of TMJ disorders and the importance of advancing research to improve patient outcomes.