Orofacial Pain community achieves recognition, leadership at annual meeting

Two members of the Division of TMD and Orofacial Pain achieved great success at this year’s American Academy of Orofacial Pain Clinical and Scientific Meeting.

The 48th meeting in the AAOP’s history took place in Scottsdale, AZ from May 9-12 and featured research presentations, industry-sponsored sessions, networking and more.

Talia Just, DMD, first-year resident in TMD and Orofacial Pain, received a poster award for her master’s project research on “the potential overlap of patients with traumatic brain injuries and with temporomandibular disorders.”

“My poster was a retrospective review of patients seen in our orofacial pain clinic who reported a history of a traumatic brain injury and characterized their history of injury, orofacial pain condition and improvement at follow up,” she explained. “It suggested that a history of traumatic brain injury negatively impacted the prognosis of these patients and supported the need for future research.”

Just enjoyed the overall experience of attending her first AAOP meeting, which gave her the opportunity to network, learn about new research and witness the future of the specialty.

“Learning about the newest therapeutics and the processes that underlie pain helps me better communicate with patients,” she explained. But most of all, she was inspired and excited to have received the poster award.

“Of course, I find this topic so interesting, but it was great to see that other people also find it interesting,” Just reflected. “I am most proud of my ability to continue to work on good-quality research while in a demanding residency program. Bolstered by winning the poster award, I will continue with my research and hope to generate more interesting data.”

Mariona Mulet, DDS, MS & Certificate in TMD & Orofacial Pain ’03, was installed as president of the AAOP during the meeting. Mulet served as Graduate Program Director of TMD and Orofacial Pain from 2005-2011 and has acted as an adjunct clinical instructor since 2004. She became president after first serving on the AAOP’s council and executive board, then moving through the ranks as secretary, treasurer and president-elect. She will serve as president for one year.

Mulet believes strongly in organized dentistry, especially in a rapidly growing and evolving field like TMD and Orofacial Pain. Having become a recognized dental specialty in 2020, the future of orofacial pain is bright—and now is as important a time as ever to be involved.

“Orofacial pain is still a growing specialty,” Mulet explained “There is a lot of work to be done to spread the word about our role in dentistry and improve access to care.”

As president, Mulet hopes to improve recognition for the specialty, increase access to care for patients and ensure the promotion of research and evidence-based practices. “We are a rapidly-growing field, with a lot of work ahead of us,” she explained. “I hope I can direct us to grow wisely and efficiently as a specialty.”

After many years of hard work, Mulet is excited to take on this new responsibility.

“It is a big responsibility to take ownership of the topics we’re dealing with, and I take it seriously,” she said. “It is exciting to be recognized for the work I’ve done and to serve. After many years of being involved with the board, I’m very familiar with our activities and have a real interest in our success.”

Congratulations to Just and Mulet for their accomplishments at this year’s meeting!