ABOUT
Dr. John Summer's research-based specialty dental practice has been limited to treatment of TMJ disorders and obstructive sleep apnea in downtown Portland Oregon for more than four decades. Compared to other TMJ clinics, we stand out for our innovations that include a new understanding of the bite based on orthopedic function and joint physiology, recognizing the roles of the bite and the airway passage in facial growth, recognizing the role of facial growth in the cause and 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. 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.
DR. SUMMER'S RESEARCH - began in 1980 with the anthropology of the TMJs and the jaw system in an effort to learn why the tribal people he lived with (and ate with) for several months showed no evidence of the TMJ disorders and strained bites that had become common in wealthy and technologically advanced societies. Their teeth worked together very differently than those of his patients back home. Their chewing was smooth, powerful, and symmetrical. He visited museums to study the craniofacial skeletons of our most recent ancestors from just before the mass industrialization of our food supply.
The focus soon extended to facial growth, because people aren't born with TMJ disorders, - people grow into them. Humans at birth don't have TMJs or teeth yet. They are born with a genetically determined facial growth pattern, but their jawbones also grow largely in response to bite forces, and their growth deviates in response to irregular and asymmetrical bite forces. The long and involved story of how this deviant facial growth has become endemic in our society can be found in 5 chapters under the ETIOLOGY tab.
Dr. Summer's subsequent research focused on treatment. First it was the anatomy and physiology of the TMJ articular disks, the location and condition of which usually determines appropriate clinical treatment. Then it expanded to include orthopedic mechanics to respond to the different TMJ articular disk conditions, such as disk recapture.
Dr. Summer's most recent research has been focused on developing and testing new and more effective oral appliance treatments for obstructive sleep apnea. These treatments are described in detail in MULTI-LEVEL ORAL APPLIANCE TREATMENT OF SLEEP APNEA under the FOR DOCTORS tab. The devices used are now in the FDA's 510 K process, with the final study for FDA approval being conducted now in denture patients, and with expected clearance in 2025.
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 effective symptomatic treatment, while incorporating facial growth enables us to also 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. A toothache or inflamed gums can trigger the same type of reflex jaw muscle tightening that a damaged TMJ can trigger, so 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 improve the pattern of subsequent 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.