Oral Motor Disorders: Hemi-facial Spasms
Secondary Masticatory Muscle Spasm Occasionally the jaw closers or jaw openers can develop a continuous strong spastic activity which if sustained for a long period of time, will actually produce contracture with substantial shortening of the muscle. Often this...
Understanding Oral Motor Disorders: Synkinesis
Synkinesis A variation of hemi-facial spasm is the motor abnormality called synkinesis. This disorder occurs after a viral or traumatic paralysis of the seventh nerve. The nerve injury produces sprouting and the new motor connections cause inappropriate motor...
RGS4 Protein May Help Play a Role in Chronic Pain Maintenance
This article was originally published on Confronting Chronic Pain. Millions of people suffer from chronic pain around the country. It’s a condition that can be debilitating, keeping people from being able to enjoy the activities they love, as well as impacting their...
USC’s advanced program in orofacial pain endowed and named
Drs. Glenn T. Clark and Roseann Mulligan The investment ensures Ostrow’s first named program, The Dr. Glenn T. Clark Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine Program, continues educating the profession’s finest for years to come. BY JOHN HOBBS MA ’14 USC’s advanced program in...
Drug Induced Dystonic-type Extrapyramidal Reactions
There are patients who have developed a drug induced oral motor hyperactivity which does not fit into the dyskinesia category. [1] Some prescription medications and illegal drugs produce a motor response which is better classified as an unspecified extrapyramidal...
5 Ways to Treat Bruxism
Bruxism Definition Bruxism can be defined as nonfunctional jaw movement that includes clenching, grinding, clicking, and gnashing of teeth during sleep. Based on EMG recording of the jaw closers during sleep, there are two basic patterns of bruxism reported: (1)...
Chemodenervation Injections for Treating Oromandibular Dystonia
Chemodenervation Injecting Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) into the affected musculature has proved to be the most effective means of managing conditions such as cervical and oromandibular dystonia. [1] [2] Chemodenervation with BoNT has become the management modality of...
Surgical Management for Oromandibular Dystonia
Owing to the increased morbidity of surgery, it is usually reserved as a last resort for those patients that fail to respond to medications or for those that develop resistance to botox injections and there are several methods described in the literature. The surgical...
Treating Oromandibular Dystonia: Tricks & Medical Management
Management of oromandibular dystonia can be broadly divided into four domains: 1.) sensory tricks, 2.) medical management, 3.) chemodenervation using botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), and 4.) surgical management. In this article, we explain the first two...
Hyperactive Oral Motor Disorders: Oromandibular Dystonia
Oromandibular Dystonia (OMD) Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) is a rare focal neurological disorder that affects mouth, face, and jaws, defined as an involuntary, repetitive, and sometimes sustained muscle contraction of the jaw and perioral muscles. Dystonia can be...
Introduction to Orofacial Movement Disorders
Movement disorders are a complex group of disorders spanning all aspects of neurological illnesses and range from conditions characterized by too little movement (hypokinesis) to those where movement is excessive (hyperkinesis) [1]. Movement disorders are...
A Dentist’s Guide: Oral Pathology of Vesicular Ulcerative Conditions
Explore a variety of vesicular ulcerative conditions of the oral cavity including common conditions such as Herpes, Syphilis, Aphthous Stomatitis, and Squamous Cell Carcinomas, and rare oral diseases such as Pemphigus Vulgaris, Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid,...
The Dentist’s Guide: Obstructive Sleep Apnea & Sleep Disorders
Dr. Glenn Clark, DDS developed this content for his Systems Physiology, Sleep, Motor Disorders Course for Dental Residents of the Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine master's program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. Why is sleep a concern for dentists?...
Why Patients with Chronic Pain Seek Chiropractic Care
Many people who suffer from chronic pain seek the assistance of health professionals. While some turn to traditional medical doctors, others opt for chiropractic care. For many, the allure of chiropractic care is in the idea that they try to use alternative...
Zweig elected vice president of the American Association of Endodontists
BY JILLIAN CARMENATE ’22 Stefan Zweig DDS ’86, ENDO ’92 has been elected vice president of the American Association of Endodontists. The AAE is a global resource for knowledge, research and education for the profession. The Ostrow clinical associate professor...
Oldak named Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science
BY YASMINE PEZESHKPOUR MCM ’19 Professor Janet Oldak has been selected as a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The prestigious honor is bestowed upon members through nominations by their AAAS peers. Oldak has been...
Non-Pharmacological Interventions to Help Older People with Chronic Pain
Pain is something that most of us feel at one time or another. It may come and go for most, but for millions of people it’s persistent. When it sticks around, it becomes chronic pain, which is something that is common among older people. Knowing the best ways to...
Roseann Mulligan earns 2020 Gies Award for Achievement for Dental Educators
BY JOHN HOBBS MA ’14 Associate Dean of Community Health Programs and Hospital Affairs Roseann Mulligan MS ’87 has been awarded a 2020 Gies Award for Achievement for Dental Educators from the ADEAGeis Foundation. This prestigious award is meant to pay...
Six faculty members honored with chair, professorship appointments
Such appointments are the highest honor a university can bestow. BY JOHN HOBBS MA ’14 Six Ostrow faculty members are slated to be inducted into chair and endowed professorships at an official ceremony taking place in early 2020. “Endowed faculty positions represent...
Management of Dry Mouth in Older Patients
The management of dry mouth includes two aspects: attempts to affect a change in the causative factors of the condition; and, the prevention of any potential or worsening of existing consequences of dry mouth on oral health. Diagnosis Directed Management In order to...
Reducing Fear in Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain
According to the National Institutes of Health, around 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point. There are many reasons that they can experience the low back pain. Most people only have the low back pain for a short period of time, ranging from days...
Other Conditions Affecting Salivary Glands
Systemic Diseases Many systemic diseases are reported to cause or be associated with salivary gland hypofunction as mentioned in Table 1 [29], [64]. Of these systemic diseases, Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is the most common disease that causes both xerostomia and salivary...
How to Diagnose and Manage Fibromyalgia
How many people have heard this, or a similarly disempowering conclusion from their doctors? “Your pain is all in your head” “I think you’re just depressed” “We’ve done all of the tests, there’s nothing wrong with you” For most people with fibromyalgia (FM), it takes...
How to Treat Dry Mouth in Older Patients
There are many diseases such as Xerostomia and Salivary Gland Hypofunction, radiation therapy in the head and neck area, and medications that cause dry mouth. In this article, we present several treatment options for older patients experiencing dry mouth. Sections...