Witebsky Center To Sponsor Conference On TMJ Disorders

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Ernest Witebsky Center for Immunology at the University at Buffalo will sponsor on Aug. 4-6 one of the first scientific conferences to address the combined issues of diagnosis, treatment and the body's immune response to implants for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and diseases and disorders affecting it.

Attending the conference, to be held in the Airport Radisson Hotel and Suites, 4243 Genesee St., Cheektowaga, will be physicians, dentists, immunologists, pain-management specialists and patients.

There are temporomandibular joints on each side of the mouth that control movement of the lower jaw. There are a variety of treatments for disorders affecting the joints that lead to headaches, muscle pain and impaired jaw function. Among these are implants for partial and total joint replacements.

Paul J. Friday, Ph.D., author of "Friday's Laws: How to Become Normal When You're Not and How to Stay Normal When You Are," will be the keynote speaker at the opening session at 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 4.

Chief of the Non-Invasive Division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Shadyside Multidisciplinary Pain Program, Friday also will speak on the psychological effect of TMJ disorders at 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 6.

Among the other speakers at the conference will be Robert Baier, Ph.D., UB professor of oral diagnostic sciences and executive director of the Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces; Norman D. Mohl, D.D.S. Ph.D., chair of the UB Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, and Carel J. van Oss, Ph.D., UB professor emeritus of microbiology.

For more information or to register for the conference, call 716-829-2848. The cost of the program is $50 before Aug. 1 and $55 after. The fee will be waived for patients with diseases or disorders affecting the temporomandibular joint on disability with written verification.