One of the most confusing areas of dentistry for dental professionals and their patients is temporomandibular disorders. Oftentimes patients, and even dental professionals, do not understand what is going on with regard to TM joint noises, joint pain and limited opening. Even the normal physiological and anatomical position of the TM joint is often misunderstood and terms like "centric relation" may mean one thing to one dentist and the exact opposite for another dentist.

In this presentation Dr. Spencer will lift back the curtain on internal derangements and centric relation, allowing the dental professional to become confident in their ability to clearly educate their patients with regard to popping and clicking, as well as the ability to know when a limited range of motion is most likely due to a non reducing disc displacement and what to do when this is suspected.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the anatomy of the temporomandibular joint, normal function and internal derangements.
• Discuss reducing disc displacements and when treatment may be indicated.
• Discuss non reducing disc displacements, accurate diagnosis, and when treatment may be indicated.