ABOUT
The Portland TMJ Clinic is a research-based specialty dental practice that has been limited to treatment of TMJ disorders and obstructive sleep apnea in downtown Portland Oregon for more than four decades. It is operated by a dentist Dr. John Summer. Compared to other TMJ clinics, we stand out for our innovations that include a new understanding of the bite based on joint physiology, the application of orthopedic principles to the treatment of TMJ disorders, incorporating the mandible into the analysis and treatment of body posture, and new technologies for more effective oral appliance treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Those innovations and the science behind them are explained in detail on this website.
We also stand out for our policy of transparency - everything we do is explained along with costs and rationales on this website and in our handouts. We hope that such transparency can serve as a model for medical practices, because understanding the cause of your disorder and how the available treatments work to relieve it enables consumers to make better health care decisions.
DR. SUMMER'S RESEARCH - began with the anthropology of the TMJs and the jaw system (see ETIOLOGY), stimulated by observations that tribal people still eating relatively unprocessed foods do not suffer from TMJ disorders like we do, and they have very different bites than we do. His research quickly turned to facial growth, because TMJ disorders are a product of growth. There is no evidence of them in young children, they don't begin producing symptoms until the pubertal growth spurt, and subsequently they continue to cause strains that require adaptation throughout the slow continuous facial growth of adulthood. His subsequent research focused on the anatomy and physiology of the TMJ articular disks, the location and condition of which usually determines appropriate clinical treatment. His most recent research has been focused on developing and testing new and more effective oral appliance treatments for obstructive sleep apnea. These treatments are now in the FDA's 510 K process, with expected clearance in 2024.
PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY - Applying the same orthopedic principles to the jawbones and TMJs that we apply to bones and joints in other parts of the body enables us to provide short-term symptomatic treatments that also restore long-term health to prevent the symptoms from returning after treatment. We offer a wide variety of orthopedic treatments to accommodate the wide variety of TMJ disorder types and the facial growth patterns ultimately responsible for them.
GENERAL DENTISTRY - We perform no general dentistry, therefore you need to have your own general dentist to be sure your gums and teeth are healthy; because a toothache or inflamed gums can trigger the same type of reflex jaw muscle tightening that a damaged TMJ can trigger, and they often need to be ruled out as a possible cause. Also we perform no esthetic orthodontics (braces or clear aligners). The only type of orthodontics we provide is functional orthodontics using removeable oral appliances that include orthopedic corrections to treat or prevent TMJ disorders by improving the pattern of jaw and facial growth.
COVID SAFETY - Our office is in a historic old building with windows that actually open. In addition to the normal precautions, we have fans blowing in one window and out the other, so we can maintain directional airflow if you are especially concerned about respiratory viruses.