What is an Orofacial Pain Specialist and how do I find one?

Orofacial Pain is the 12th ADA-recognized dental specialty, formally established in March 2020. Specialists complete a 2-3 year residency focused entirely on TMJ disorders, headache, and chronic facial pain, grounded in evidence-based practice. You can find one through the American Academy of Orofacial Pain's member directory or the American Board of Orofacial Pain's directory of board-certified Diplomates.

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Official Directories

AAOP Member Directory — searchable list of American Academy of Orofacial Pain members.
ABOP Diplomate Directory — verify whether a provider is an active, board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Orofacial Pain, searchable by state or last name.

NOTE: An Orofacial Pain credential is a strong signal, not the only one — there are excellent dentists and physical therapists treating TMD without this specific specialty training, and there are also practitioners offering unproven, sometimes harmful techniques after a single weekend course regardless of credential. Read reviews, ask about training, and trust your judgment about whether a provider is a good fit.

What is an Orofacial Pain Specialist?

Most dentists get very little training in diagnosing and treating TMJ disorders — often just a class or two in dental school, if that. Orofacial Pain Specialists are different: they've completed a dedicated 2-3 year residency spent almost entirely on TMD, headache, and chronic facial pain, built on current research rather than a weekend course.

In March 2020, the National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards formally recognized Orofacial Pain as the 12th specialty in dentistry, alongside fields like orthodontics and oral surgery. It's still a young specialty — most states have only a handful of providers so far — but the number is growing every year.

What they're trained to diagnose and manage

Temporomandibular joint disorders of muscular, skeletal, or cartilaginous origin
Primary headaches, including migraine, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs), and tension-type headaches
Secondary headaches, such as myalgia-related, cervicogenic, or medication-overuse headaches
Neuropathic pain (e.g. trigeminal neuralgia, burning mouth syndrome, post-traumatic neuropathy)
Neurovascular pain (e.g. temporal arteritis)
Primary and secondary dental pain
Mucocutaneous pain disorders
Biopsychosocial factors influencing the pain experience
Sleep disorders that contribute to chronic pain conditions

Because they specialize specifically in this area, Orofacial Pain Specialists are also well-positioned to tell you when conservative care has run its course and a case genuinely needs to escalate — including referring you to an oral & maxillofacial surgeon when surgery is actually the appropriate next step, rather than either over- or under-recommending it.

See our post on what kind of doctor actually treats TMJ for how this specialty fits alongside dentists, physical therapists, and ENTs.

TMJCompass is not affiliated with AAOP or ABOP and does not independently verify individual providers — these directories are maintained by the respective organizations.