Appliance Therapy / TMJ Articles
The Gift of Dr. Mark Friedman
By Edward Feinberg, DMD
To be touched and inspired by someone is a blessing that defies words; and that individual becomes a cherished mentor, role model, and best friend. Such an individual makes a difference in this world that transcends the norm. It is not surprising that when they are suddenly gone it is as if the rug has been yanked from beneath your feet.
Such a person was Dr. Mark Friedman. He was the most accomplished individual I have ever met in the field of headache and facial pain associated with the temporomandibular joint. He was not only an amazing practitioner in Mount Vernon, Scarsdale and Larchmont. He was a Clinical Associate Professor of Anatomy and Medicine at New York Medical College; and Clinical Associate Professor of Dentistry and Director of the TMJ Clinic at Westchester Medical Center. He had patented inventions and FDA approved treatments on the cutting edge of his field. He published numerous papers and authored a textbook.
I so admired him because he was a true scientist—he did not let commonly held assumptions pattern his thinking. He questioned everything and tried to find answers with his research. He conducted amazing research at Westchester Medical Center. His techniques allowed patients to obtain relief from debilitating headaches and facial pain without drugs and their insidious side-effects. Even pregnant women were able to be treated with these techniques! Patients who were incapacitated by chronic headache were miraculously able to resume normal lives, thanks to him.
Many—especially those indoctrinated with the profession’s dogmatic thinking—assigned his techniques to the lunatic fringe. Several years ago I took a course in his office and he demonstrated his approach to TMJ syndrome and facial pain. He showed me how to do a proper diagnosis. He knew when pains were not associated with TM joint and saved the lives of patients who instead had other conditions, such as brain tumors and temporal arteritis. His approach to treatment was based on anatomy, logical testing and scientific observation. Mark treated several patients during the course and I saw him work his magic in front of my own eyes. Amazing!
Mark was such a caring and kind person. He was always thinking; always trying to come up with a solution to complex problems. He called me a few weeks ago out of the blue. “I think I have something that can help your mother with her migraines”, he said. “If she can’t come to the office, I could treat her at her apartment”, he insisted. I was stunned. Can you imagine a better humanitarian? He was as good a friend as any I have ever had.
I loved our lunches together, and I wish we had had more of them. He was so exuberant about his research and inventions and I reveled in his enthusiasm! I also empathized with his frustration about getting the profession to listen and not be so judgmental and close-minded. I know he wanted his dental colleagues all over the country to have the benefit of his knowledge because his treatments were, for the most part, intraoral.. It is truly a shame that the dental profession as a whole could not recognize his genius. Mark would have had more national opportunities to lecture or published articles in JADA had he “conformed”, but he stood his ground because his research-based evidence proved that his techniques were better for the patients than the conventional ones. The courage to do what is best for the patient and not what is expedient for the practitioner—is the hallmark of a true professional. If only everyone would aspire to this ideal!
What a difference Mark made in this world—his life was a life well-lived. So many individuals were transformed by him during the course of his life they would be impossible to count. I myself miss him dearly, but I know that I will always carry a part of him with me forever—his teachings, his enthusiasm, his courage and his ideals. Thank you Mark, for what you have given me!
Published in The Bulletin of the Ninth District Dental Association, March, 2009.