Chicago Area Dentist is New Chair of The American Alliance of TMD Organizations. Dr Shapira Warns of New Danger That Will Effect Patients Ability to Receive Appropriate Care Amazing TMJ Testimonials

    CHICAGO, IL, March 04, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The American Alliance of TMD held its annual meeting on February 26-27 at the Chicago Marriott.

The Alliance (http://www.tmdalliance.org/index.html) is dedicated to protecting the rights of TMD patients to receive the care they need. According to Dr Shapira there is a grave new threat has arisen that may effect both the patients rights and ability to have their care reimbursed by insurance. The threat is from a new board claiming the right to grant specialty outside the auspices of the American Dental Association which is and always has represented the dental profession and public safety. Please like the TMD Alliance on Facebook.

The ADA or American Dental Association has always been the voice of organized dentistry and Specialty recognition in the U.S. The American Dental Association has recognized several dental specialties including: American Board of Dental Public Health, American Board of Endodontics, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, American Board of Orthodontics, American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, and American Board of Periodontology.

The new group is the American Board of Dental Specialties (ABDS) and it is creating specialty status to groups that have either not met the ADA standards or not been accepted by the ADA.

The following Dental Specialty Boards are recognized by the ABDS:

American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry This so called specialty is already well represented by two seperate ADA approved specialties.

American Board of Oral Medicine.

American Board of Orofacial Pain. There are several TMJ groups that have Diplomate Status among their members. This group actually discounts the effect of dentistry and occlusion on oral facial pain. Should they be a specialty it should be of medicine not dentistry.

American Dental Board of Anesthesiology

The TMD Alliance has a primary concern with the American Board of Orofacial Pain specialty which has repeatably been turned down for specialty by the American Dental Association because it most directly effects its members but is also opposed to the concept of anyone being able to grant specialty.

Dr Shapira could not comment further on specifics of the problems associated with this group but the TMD Alliance has long been opposed to specialty. Dr Shapira believes this specialty will hurt patients, TMD practitioners as well as the entire dental profession.

This link leads to a YouTube Channel of Think Better Life Patient Testimonial videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk9Bfz6pklC7_UluWFHzLrg

Everyone with chronic TMJ pain, migraines, neck pain or facial pain should view these videos.

This so called specialty could destroy peoples lives by not allowing treatments used in these videos.

The so called specialties being created will need to be approved by each and every state dental board across the country. Dr Shapira urges the ADA and all of its constituents to do all it can to protect the American Public from this dangerous development. State Dental Boards across the country need to reject these new specialties to protect the public until they have been properly vetted. The ADA should consider taking a strong stance in this issue before it is too late.

When the American Dental Association creates a new specialty it Grandfathers in doctors working within the specialty as specialists. The DANGER WITH SELF-DECLARED SPECIALTIES IS ONLY MEMBERS OF A SELECT GROUP ARE ADMITTED AND THEN THAT GROUP IS IN CHARGE OF WHO CAN LATER BECOME A SPECIALIST.

THIS IS A REAL DANGER TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AND SHOULD BE DISCUSSED IN AN OPEN FORUM.

The TMD Alliance is made up of the following organizations:

American Academy of Craniofacial Pain
(Previously American Academy of Head, Neck and Facial Pain

American Equilibration Society
(The first organization dedicated to TMJ disorders)

International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics
(previously International Association of Comprehensive Esthetics)

International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics
(The original Neuromuscular dental group)

International Association for Orthodontics

Sacro Occipital Technique Organization-USA
(The only Chiropractic group in the Alliance)

Tennessee CRANIO

The following organizations have lapsed membership in the Alliance but Dr Shapira hopes to bring them back to full membership status:

American Academy of Pain Management
American College of Prosthodontics

Dr Shapira is a Fellow of the International College of CranioMandibular Orthopedics, Secretary and representative to the TMD Alliance along with Dr Barry Cooper, Past President of ICCMO, A Life Member of the AES and one of the founding members of the Alliance and past chair. Dr Cooper has an impressive history in the TMD field.
http://www.tmjtmd.com/curriculum-vitae2.html

Dr Shapira is also a Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a long time member of both the American Equilibration Society and the Academy of CranioFacial Pain, as well as belonging to the ADA, the Illinois State Dental Society and the Chicago Dental Society.

Dr Shapira is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and a founding member of The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (formerly the Sleep Disorder Dental Society) and hopes that this group will also join the TMD Alliance this year.

Dr Ira L Shapira created the I HATE CPAP (www.ihatecpap.com) and I HATE HEADACHE (www.ihateheadaches.org) websites to help patients find help with these difficult medical disorders that medicine can frequently not treat adequately without a dental collaboration. Dr Shapira did research in the 1980's as a visiting assistant professor at Rush Medical School where he worked with Rosalind Cartwright PhD who is primarily responsible for the entire field of Dental Sleep Medicine. He also studied with Dr Barney Jankelson who created the initial concepts that neuromuscular dentistry still uses today and created a company Myotronics that is the leading manufacturer of instrumentation used by Neuromuscular Dentistry.

Dr Shapira is a Diplomate of The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management, and a Fellow of the International College of CranioMandibular Orthopedics (ICCMO). He is a former national and International Regent of ICCMO, its current Secretary and the representative to the Alliance of TMD organizations or the TMD ALLIANCE has a general dental practice in Gurnee, Il and has recently started Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates in Highland Park.

Patients in Northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin can contact Dr Shapira by phone toll free at 1-8-NO-PAP-MASK OR 1-800-TM-JOINT or thru his websites at:

http://www.thinkbetterlife.com (Highland Park office)

http://www.delanydentalcare.com (Gurnee Office)

http://www.ihateheadaches.org

http://www.chicagoland.ihatecpap.com.

http://www.Sleepandhealth.com

Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor of Sleep and Health Journal, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, President of Sleep Well Illinois, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei. He has recently formed Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates. He is a Regent of ICCMO and its representative to the TMD Alliance, He was a founding and certified member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, A founding member of DOSA the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, A Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a graduate of LVI. He is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical School's Sleep Service where he worked with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who is a founder of the fields of Sleep Medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a consultant to numerous sleep centers and teaches courses in Dental Sleep Medicine in his office to doctors from around the U.S. He is the Founder of I HATE CPAP LLC and http://www.ihatecpap.com Dr Shapira also holds several patents on methods and devices for the prophylactic minimally invasive early removal of wisdom teeth and collection of bone marrow and stem cells. He is currently working with Dr Tom Diekwisch at the University of Illinois and Baylor University to prove these stem cells can change peoples lives for the better. Dr Shapira is a licensed general dentist in Illinois and Wisconsin.


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