A hands-on all-inclusive 2-day TMD retreat and 1-year access to exclusive online educational material.
November 6 – 7, 2026 in Nashville, TN
Elevate Your TMD Expertise with an Immersive, All-Inclusive Learning Experience – Let Us Plan Everything While You Learn
- Develop your competency in assessing and managing TMD
- Expand your clinical tool set to better serve your patients – return to your practice with immediately applicable knowledge
- Learn from Board-Certified Orofacial Pain Specialists
- Grow through in-person experience and on-demand self-study modules
The TMD Education for Awareness and Management (TEAM) course, created by the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, is a premier, intensive course that combines two-day in-person training and on-demand, self-study modules designed to accelerate your confidence and clinical skill in management of temporomandibular disorders.
This exceptional program blends interactive lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and small group discussions – all supported by an extraordinary 1:6 faculty-to-participant ratio that ensures personalized attention and meaningful mentorship throughout the entire experience.
Your registration includes a 2-night stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN, and all meals, transforming this course into a unique, all-inclusive professional retreat. Immerse yourself in a focused, supportive environment where you can sharpen your TMD management skills, build professional connections, and return to your practice with immediately applicable knowledge.
Discover a new standard of TMD education – intensive, interactive, and truly unforgettable.
Limited Spots Available – Reserve Yours Today!
Learn More
Course Information
In-Person Schedule
Online Content
Faculty
Registration Information
Accommodations
![]()
The American Academy of Orofacial Pain is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
AAOP has designated this course for up to 22.5 continuing education credits. The in-person elements account for 11.5 credits and participants may earn up to 11 more credits through self-study of recommended modules through AAOP’s online learning platform, learn.aaop.org.
Accomodations

Set within the vibrant Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, this course takes place in one of Nashville’s most iconic destinations. Enjoy beautiful atriums, serene walking paths, and top-tier amenities – all just steps from your room and your classroom.
Course Information
Target Audience:
Practitioners and staff who need to become competent in the assessment and management of the most common orofacial pain (OFP) conditions presenting in a regular dental practice.
These educational materials aim to provide definitions, core content knowledge, evaluation tools, management strategies and hands-on experience for general practitioners with the goal of empowering the clinician to recognize, evaluate, triage and make patient-centered management plans.
Making TMD education available to broad audiences will ultimately facilitate access to care, bridging the need of thousands of patients in a setting of very limited number of orofacial pain specialists. We aim to provide an educational model that will assist local dentists and their teams in guiding and providing quality care to patients with OFP problems.
At the completion of this course clinicians will be empowered to recognize and understand different patient complexities, define levels of competency in OFP management, develop problem solving skills, be comfortable with outlining management plans involving multiple practitioners and utilizing a TEAM approach, and understand when to treat and when to refer.
This course is targeted towards general dentists, dental students, dental specialists, auxiliary dental staff, allied medical professional, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, health psychologists, and others.
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide an in-depth overview and hands-on experience in the diagnosis and management of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in clinical practice. The program will educate attendees on the essential concepts that encompass the field of TMD and will establish a strong foundation for clinical decision-making, enabling participants to confidently evaluate patients and sharpen their clinical skills.
This course includes 11.5 hours of in-person learning content, divided between didactic lectures delivered by leading experts in the field of orofacial pain and clinical, hands-on interactive components. Participants will learn how to conduct a comprehensive clinical history, perform a thorough physical examination, and apply the essentials of trigger point injections and botulinum toxin techniques. Clinical cases will be presented and discussed in an interactive format, with small group discussions offered during lunch to enhance peer-to-peer learning and faculty engagement.
In addition, attendees will receive complimentary access to more than 11 hours of asynchronous lectures that delve deeper into both TMD and other orofacial pain disorders, including headaches, neuropathic pain, sleep medicine, and practice management.
Course Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify the basic concepts and terminology used in the areas of TMD and OFP
- Outline the etiology, pathophysiology, contributing biopsychosocial factors, diagnoses, and treatment planning for TMD and OFP conditions
- Identify the bidirectional relationship between sleep disorders and TMD/OFP
- Describe the role of imaging in the diagnosis of TMD and select appropriate imaging modalities based on patient presentation
- Comprehend the basic principles of multidisciplinary clinical management in TMD and OFP
- Identify red flags that may indicate non-TMD disorders and determine when referral to the appropriate healthcare provider is warranted
- Understand the relevance and implementation of various therapeutic approaches
- Assess patient complexity and outline a stepwise approach to clinical management for patients with TMD
- Utilize sleep screening tools to identify sleep disorders
- Implement readily available conservative treatment measures for all TMD patients
- Understand the relevance and application of various therapeutic approaches, including behavioral, pharmacologic, physical medicine, and interventional strategies
Faculty
Steve Bender, DDS, DABOP
Dr. Steve Bender is a retired Associate Professor from Texas A&M University College of Dentistry in Dallas Texas where he directed the Facial Pain and Sleep Medicine Clinic. Currently he serves as a guest lecturer for the LSU orofacial pain residency program. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain and has earned Fellowships in the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, the American Headache Society, and the American College of Dentists. In addition, he is a past president of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas in 1986 and then studied orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders at the Parker E Mahan Facial Pain Center at the University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville Florida from 1998 to 2000. Since that time, his practice was limited to the diagnosis and management of orofacial pains. Dr. Bender currently serves as an Associate Editor for CRANIO® The Journal of Craniomandibular & Sleep Practice. He has also published numerous peer reviewed articles and contributed multiple book chapters. Dr. Bender is a frequent invited presenter for both dental and medical conferences.
Ian Boggero, PhD
Dr. Boggero is the Director of Psychological Services and Director of Research at the University of Kentucky Orofacial Pain Clinic. He completed his undergraduate education at UCLA and obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky, with a graduate certificate in biostatistics. He did a clinical internship at the Lexington VA and after his Ph.D. he completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center where he worked with children and families with chronic pain. A practicing clinical psychologist, Dr. Boggero’s research interests are in developing brief psychological interventions for improving pain, sleep, and fatigue in patients with chronic pain. He has over 100 combined publications/presentations and over 2,000 citations, and has been invited to give talks across the country and the world on psychological management of chronic orofacial pain. Currently, he is conducting an NIH-funded randomized clinical trial to test brief psychological interventions for chronic masticatory muscle pain. He is also the chair of the Research Committee of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain and a board member of the Kentucky Psychological Association. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, playing soccer, hiking, cooking, reading, and playing chess online.
Jack Botros, DDS, MS
Jack Botros, DDS, MS is a clinical assistant professor in the division of TMD, Orofacial pain and Dental Sleep Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He provides clinical care in a multidisciplinary setting and leads orofacial pain education for the Doctor of Dental Surgery program. Dr. Botros received his dental degree at Alexandria University, Egypt and earned a Master of Science in dental sciences at McGill University, Canada. Dr. Botros completed a residency program in orofacial pain and oral medicine at the University of Southern California. His research interests include orofacial neuropathic pain and primary headaches.
Mridul Chakarvarty, DDS, DABOP
Dr. Chakarvarty is an orofacial pain specialist who is a diplomate of the American academy of Orofacial pain and American academy of dental sleep medicine. She earned her Doctorate of dental surgery from New York College of dentistry in 2014, following which she worked as a general for 9 years before going back to pursue a 2 year residency in orofacial pain at the University of Kentucky. Since then, she has limited her practice to the diagnosis and management of orofacial pain at her private practice in Austin, Texas.
Alberto Herrero Babiloni, DDS, MS, PhD
Bio coming soon
Emily Kahnert, PT, DPT, PhD, CCTT
Emily Kahnert, PT, DPT, PhD, CCTT is a Physical Therapist and clinician scientist in the Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and UMN Physical Therapy Program. Her 21 years of clinical practice have been exclusively focused on treating TMD and Orofacial pain in interdisciplinary settings. She earned her Certified Cervical and Temporomandibular Therapist designation through the Physical Therapy Board of Craniofacial and Cervical Therapeutics in 2019 and is part of the TMD PT Clinical Practice Guideline development group. Her PhD work examined telerehabilitation effectiveness for individuals with TMD, and she is active in teaching and ongoing clinical research examining rehabilitation for patients with orofacial pain.
Isabel Moreno Hay, DDS, PhD, DABOP, DADSM
Dr. Moreno Hay is currently the Division Chief and Program Director of Orofacial Pain at the College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky. She is an Associate Professor at the College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky. She obtained her dental degree from the University Complutense of Madrid, School of Dentistry (Spain). Dr. Moreno graduated from the 2-year CODA approved program in Orofacial Pain at the University of Kentucky in 2013. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain in 2015, and Diplomate of the American Board Dental Sleep Medicine. She is currently the President Elect of the AAOP and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the SEDCYDO. She is also an active member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. She has published several research articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters, and has lectured in scientific national and international meetings.
Mariona Mulet Pradera, DDS, MS, DABOP
Dr. Mariona Mulet Pradera is an orofacial pain specialist in St Paul, MN. She is board-certified by the American Board of Orofacial Pain (ABOP) and by the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM). She has dedicated her career to the field of orofacial pain since 2001, and provides care to orofacial pain patients in a multidisciplinary clinical setting at Health Partners Group in Minnesota. She is also the Associate Program Director of the Orofacial Pain Graduate Program at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. She is currently the immediate past president of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP).
Marcela Romero Reyes, DDS, PhD
Dr. Marcela Romero Reyes is a clinical professor and the Director of the Brotman Facial Pain Clinic at the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences, University of Maryland, School of Dentistry. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the fields of orofacial pain and headache disorders. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, Fellow of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain (AAOP) and fellow of the American Headache Society (AHS) and she is the former AHS chair of the special section of TMD, Cervical Spine and Orofacial Pain. Dr. Romero has been distinguished by numerous awards including the prestigious Steven B. Graff-Radford Orofacial Pain and Headache lectureship by the AHS. She is also the co-editor of the 7th edition of the AAOP Orofacial Pain, Guidelines for Assessment, Diagnosis and Management.
Dr. Romero graduated from the School of Dentistry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She obtained her PhD in Oral biology and Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction certificate at UCLA, School of Dentistry and postdoctoral training in neuroscience with a focus in primary headaches at the UCLA Headache Research and Treatment Program now known as the Goldberg Migraine Program in the department of Neurology, David Geffen, School of Medicine. Prior to coming to the University of Maryland, Dr. Romero was an Assistant Professor at the New York University College of Dentistry in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Radiology and Medicine. Dr. Romero was the Director of the NYU Orofacial and Head Pain clinic and the Director of the Advanced Program for International Dentists in Oral Medicine & Orofacial Pain.
Alex Vaughan, DDS, MS
Alex Vaughan, DDS, MS is a board certified Orofacial Pain specialist and co-founder of Virginia Total Sleep in Richmond Virginia. Having started his dental career in the front office, he was “insurance minded” from the beginning. Seeing the urgent need for dental sleep medicine and orofacial pain services, he co-founded his practice with Dr. Michael Pagano on the foundation of medical billing and cutting-edge technology. By combining electronic medical records and his billing expertise, Virginia Total Sleep has reduced patient costs by 90% all while maximizing revenue and case acceptance rate.
Thomas Weber, DDS, MS, DABOP
Thomas Weber is the Director of Orofacial Pain at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Indiana University (2006) and then completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Wright-Patterson Medical Center (2007). Dr. Weber received his certificate in Orofacial Pain (2014) and Masters in Dental Science (2015) from the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. He is an assistant professor in the Uniformed Services University Postgraduate Dental College and an instructor in the Air Force’s Comprehensive Dentistry residency. Dr. Weber is an officer and fellow of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain and a diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain.
Online Content
- Unit I: Introduction to Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) and Orofacial Pain (OFP)
- Unit II: History Taking of an OFP Patient
- Unit III: Clinical Examination of an OFP Patient
- Unit IV: Diagnosis of Intra-Articular TMJ Disorders
- Unit V: Diagnosis of Masticatory Muscular Disorders
- Unit VI: Management of TMDs
- Part I: Patient Education and Self-Management, Occlusal Appliance Therapy, Injections
- Part II: Biobehavioral Interventions; Sleep Bruxism and TMD
- Part III: Physical Therapy Modalities
- Unit VII: Pharmacotherapy for TMDs
- Unit VIII: Neuropathic OFP
- Unit IX: Primary and Secondary Headache Disorders
- Unit X: Dental Sleep Medicine
- Unit XI: Coding and Billing in TMD Practice
Registration Information
Your registration includes:
- 11.5 hours of live, in-person didactic content and hands-on experience
- 11 hours of asynchronous online learning, available through learn.aaop.org only for those registered for this course
- Two-night hotel stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
- Meals with faculty, including:
- Welcome Reception on Thursday evening
- Breakfast and lunch on Friday and Saturday
- Dinner on Friday
Registration Rates:
- Early Rate: $2,100
- Early rate ends 5/31/26
- Regular Rate: $2,500
Note: If you live within an hour of the course venue and would like to stay in your own home, please contact AAOP’s Education Coordinator, Liz Newman at liz@aaop.org for assistance in registering at a lower rate.
Cancellation Policy:
AAOP does not anticipate needing to cancel this course, but in the unlikelihood that this is necessary, all registrants will receive a full refund.
Registrants may cancel their registration and receive a full refund up until 30 days prior to the start of the course.
In-Person Schedule
Friday, November 6, 2026

Saturday, November 7, 2026


