A new clinic has opened at the University of Illinois at Chicago specializing in some of the most difficult oral conditions to diagnose and treat: from burning mouth syndrome and temporomandibular disorders to unexplained headaches and persistent sores in the mouth.
The only one of its kind in the area, the Oral Medicine/Orofacial Pain Center will be a community resource, offering clinical consultation and non-surgical treatment in a field where there are few experts.
"Previously, physicians and dentists encountering these difficult and unusual oral diseases had nowhere to refer patients. Now, in one place, we have a staff of clinicians who are experts in evaluating, diagnosing and treating these conditions," said Dr. Charles Greene, director of orofacial pain studies and clinical professor of oral medicine in the UIC College of Dentistry.
Oral medicine covers a wide range of disorders, including oral mucosal diseases, oral manifestations of other diseases, orofacial pain and movement disorders, and orofacial sensory disorders.
Besides Greene, other faculty members staffing the clinic are Dr. Joel Epstein, head of oral medicine and diagnostic sciences in the College of Dentistry and director of the interdisciplinary program in oral cancer in the UIC Cancer Center, and Dr. Miriam Grushka, associate professor of oral medicine and diagnostic sciences.
Greene, Epstein and Grushka will collaborate closely with physicians in otolaryngology, gerontology and hematology at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, as well as dentists in the UIC College of Dentistry specializing in oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontology, endodontics and prosthodontics.
Patients can be seen either in the practice at UIC's renowned Craniofacial Center or, as a lower-cost alternative, in the College of Dentistry's Oral Medicine Clinic. At the college, residents and students will be involved in assessing and managing patients under faculty supervision.
For more information about the new Oral Medicine/Orofacial Pain Center, call (312) 996-7546.
