TMD:
Ideal for IPE
Experiences
Interprofessional
education (IPE), an
initiative for improving
the quality of patient
care through the
collaboration of
practitioners in various
health care disciplines,
has become an integral
component of the LSUSD
curriculum. One dental
field that is ideally
suited for integration
into an IPE environment is
orofacial pain, and more
specifically,
temporomandibular
disorders (TMD).
In one application of IPE
for TMD, this fall
third-year dental students
met with third-year
physical therapy students
in the LSUHSC School of
Allied Health Professions
to learn about each
other's role in the
diagnosis and management
of TMD. With the goal of
breaking down barriers to
the interprofessional
treatment of TMD patients,
the program was planned
and coordinated by
physical therapy students.
Third-year student Celeste
Compton led the planning
with the assistance of PT
students Nathan Macaluso
and Jim Marcantel. The
interprofessional event
included keynote speakers
from dentistry and PT,
small group case
discussion, and a panel
discussion with five TMD
experts.
The morning began with
keynote presentations on
the interprofessional
approach to TMD by a
part-time faculty member
in each discipline.
Michael Shannon, DDS, MS,
directs the
Temporomandibular
Disorders Clinic in the
LSUSD Department of
Prosthodontics and is also
in private practice in
Baton Rouge. Randy
Hernandez, PT, DPT, MTC,
FAAOMPT, a physical
therapist with a practice
in Metairie, specializes
in the evaluation and
management of TMD. He has
lectured to both dental
and physical therapy
students at LSUHSC. Drs.
Shannon and Hernandez
explained how they
address, evaluate, and
treat TMD; they also
described their working
relationship with the
other profession and with
professions other than
dentistry and PT.
Following the keynote
presentations, students
divided into small groups
to discuss a case with
pre-assigned questions as
a guide. During the small
group sessions, students
were asked to compose
questions for submission
to the panel. Questions
could refer to the keynote
address, the patient case,
interprofessional patient
care, or TMD.
In addition to Drs.
Shannon and Hernandez,
members of the expert
panel were Gary Klasser,
DMD; Michael Conlin, PT,
DPT, CKPT; and Eric Cedor,
PT, DPT, ScD, COMT. Dr.
Klasser is associate
professor of diagnostic
sciences at LSUSD and
certified in orofacial
pain. Dr. Cedor is adjunct
professor in the
department of physical
therapy and works with Dr.
Hernandez in private
practice. Dr. Conlin owns
a private PT practice in
Hammond.
The TMD event provided
the basis for a
grant-funded research
project conducted by the
PT students. They are
currently in the process
of compiling and analyzing
the data that they
collected from the program
via "Student Perception of
Interprofessional Clinical
Education-Revised Version
2" (SPICE-R2) surveys,
satisfaction surveys, and
student and faculty
interviews.
According to Klasser and
Gremillion, "Since pain is
a complex sensory and
emotional experience,
especially chronic or
recurrent pain, an
interprofessional model
employing a
multidisciplinary
assessment and management
approach currently exists
focusing on physical,
psychosocial, and
behavioral aspects." With
the goal of IPE for TMD
becoming a routine
component of the dental
and PT curricula, more
joint interactions between
students and faculty of
the two disciplines are
anticipated in the future.
- Klasser GD, Gremillion
HA. Past, present, and
future of predoctoral
dental education in
orofacial pain and TMDs:
A call for
interprofessional
education. J Dent Educ
2013 Apr;77(4):395-400.
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Michael
Shannon, DDS, MS
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Randy
Hernandez, PT,
DPT, MTC,
FAAOMPT
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Gary
Klasser, DMD
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Eric
Cedor, PT, DPT,
ScD, COMT
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Michael
Conlin, PT, DPT,
CKPT
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