PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
LEARN MORE from original pioneers in the field as they discuss fundamental principles with paradigmatic consideration given to occlusal force diagnostics:
• measurement of occlusomuscular TMD
• TMJ imaging & vibration sonography
• EMG, sympathetic tone, and more.
Scientific literature can be found in the ADT&T journal:
Advanced Dental Technologies & Techniques
Oct 16, 2015 - Dr. Ben Sutter portrays the treatment process known as DTR THERAPY, giving patient examples and a brief description of the software used by T-SCAN alongside EMG for measurement of malocclusion synchronized with muscle activity. He described DTR as a form of splintless TMD therapy which defines occlusion as one of the most influential concepts in all of dentistry.
Dr. Sutter's youtube channel has countless stories of patients who've traveled to his office in Eugene, Oregon—seeking relief. For more than a decade, his videos and TMD literature document diagnosis and occlusal treatment for patients with occlusomuscular symptoms diagnosed as Meniere's disease, trigeminal neuralgia, and much more.
Jul 30, 2016 - Drs. Robert Kerstein and Mark Piper recount their respective experiences with measured occlusion and TMJ imaging concepts, finding common answers to the classic debate:
"Are occlusion and TMD related?" Both prefer MIP as a 'condylar position' for restorative dentistry more often than not, especially in facilitating immediate complete anterior guidance development, which is an important concept in DTR THERAPY.
Dr. Piper shares his perspective as a TMJ surgeon and how his philosophy evolved over the decades, describing his path as a paradigm shift. Now retired, he was for many years the oral surgeon affiliated with Dr. Pete Dawson, founder of the Dawson Academy in St. Petersburg, FL.
Nov 23, 2014 - Dr. Kerstein answers Dr. Nick Yiannios's FAQs of DTR THERAPY for TMD patients. Dr. Kerstein has been leading research and development in the field of Computerized Occlusal Analysis since 1984.
Cited literature indicated a few candidates had concerning medical conditions that might adversely affect the T-SCAN bite data. Comprehensive DTR SCREENING involves objective joint vibration sonography and T-SCAN bite pressure mapping with formal assessment of muscle tone and activity during your bite and throughout your mandibular range of motion. Individualized biometric data analysis provides diagnostic context, fosters discussion, and determines DTR candidacy.
Nov 23, 2015 - Dr. Yiannios and Dr. Tom Coleman are co-authors of literature in the Handbook of Research on Computerized Occlusal Analysis Technology Applications in Dental Medicine (Kerstein). Dr. Yiannios started his own 'Center for Neural Occlusion', which prioritizes MRI & CBCT TMJ imaging and involuntary autonomic sympathetic dysfunction.
They discuss limitations of analog methods, historical paradigmatic conceptualizations of condylar positioning ('FSCP adapted/non-adapted' vs. 'CR'), DTR CALIBRATION vs. unmeasured 'equilibration', force outlier contacts in periodontal considerations such as PDL attachment loss and mobility, and the role of iatrogenic maloccluso-muscular disc displacement (!) in chronic TMJ microtrauma.
Jul 25, 2016 - Drs. Piper and Yiannios weigh sympathetic hypertonia with TMD symptoms and dental pain described here as allodynia. Dr. Piper highlights malocclusion in trigeminal muscle spasm & coinciding autonomic influence.
Sympathetic nerve fibers accompany the trigeminal nerve along its branches. They manage muscle tone, dental sensation, and homeostatic mechanisms which also affect heart rate, insulin levels, and peripheral vascular resistance.
Dr. Piper offers greater auricular nerve blocks as a diagnostic aid. They are also GREAT for temporary symptom relief via parasympathetic allowances such as increased blood perfusion.
Oct 22, 2025 - "Why is a general dentist treating something typically diagnosed by ear, nose, and throat physicians?" Dr. Sutter profiles the nature and symptoms of Meniere's, highlighting its status as a diagnosis of exclusion based upon clinical presentation and briefly covering treatment options.
He shares an example of a T-SCAN data set to conceptualize what a DTR dentist considers in framing an occlusomuscular TMD diagnosis and treatment plan.
The emotional toll of Meniere's is something most of us cannot imagine. Social media support groups are full of stories and memes describing how debilitating this condition can be.
May 27, 2024 - Postgraduate textbooks commonly report ~90% of TN as idiopathic. Once you've been diagnosed, your options heretofore have been limited to medication, rhizotomy (e.g., gamma knife), and/or microvascular decompression (MVD).
As your own advocate, you have a choice about which path to take. Medication seems like a reasonable first step but if your episodes persist, you're looking at targeted radiation and/or brain surgery. Dr. Sutter asks: Why not first consider a consultation with a DTR dentist to at least see if non-invasive occlusal therapy might be an option? It seems a relatively simple treatment for such a devastating condition. Rhizotomy and MVD are still options even after DTR THERAPY.