Refer a Patient
We welcome referrals from colleagues in dentistry and medicine for TMD, craniofacial pain and sleep-disordered breathing. Care without surgery, evaluation before treatment, and findings reported back to you.
Who Refers and Why
Colleagues in dentistry and medicine refer for TMD, craniofacial pain, and sleep-disordered breathing — from pediatric airway concerns to adult sleep apnea. Every referral is evaluated on its own findings, and we say so plainly when a symptom picture points outside our scope.
Six Systems • One Evaluation
We evaluate the same six systems for every patient, whether the presenting complaint is jaw pain, headache, or a sleep concern.
- Jaw and joint function. Movement, loading, and symmetry on opening, closing, and excursion.
- Muscles and movement. Tension, fatigue, and coordination through the jaw, face, head, and neck.
- Airway and breathing. Patency and breathing effort, awake and asleep.
- Sleep. Quality and fragmentation, and how sleep is affecting muscle tone and pain.
- Tongue and oral function. Rest posture and swallow pattern, and the load they place on the jaw over time.
- Growth and development. Craniofacial and airway development trajectory, in growing patients.
Who to Refer
Clinical situations we see most often from referring colleagues.
- CPAP intolerance or refusal. Patients who cannot tolerate, or will not use, CPAP.
- Clicking, locking, or limited opening. Mechanical joint findings on exam.
- Bruxism with observable wear. Clenching or grinding with visible tooth wear.
- Morning headache. Head pain present on waking, before the day’s stressors.
- Unexplained facial, ear, or tooth pain. Pain that persists after a normal ENT exam and unremarkable oral findings.
- Pediatric airway signs. Mouth breathing, snoring, or crowded arches in a growing child.
- Headache not responding to neurological management. When a treated neurological cause doesn’t explain the whole picture.
Refer a Patient
What Happens After You Refer
How to Refer a Patient
Call (385) 446-4947 or use the online form above. Include your patient’s contact information and your concern.
What to include
- Your patient’s name and contact information
- The concern or symptoms you observed
- Your name and practice contact
Prefer to talk it through?: Call (385) 446-4947 and ask for Dr. Gunnerson — we are happy to discuss a case before you refer.
What We Send Back
A referral stays a two-way conversation. Here is what you can expect after your patient is seen.
You’ll hear from us
- An evaluation summary after the first visit
- Findings, and what we believe is contributing
- The recommended plan
- Progress updates as care continues
- Explicit notice when the picture is not TM-primary, and where we believe it points instead
Your patient, your care: Your patient stays your patient throughout treatment — we keep you informed at every stage.
How We Co-Manage Care
Our evaluation is not a substitute for medical or surgical specialty diagnosis. Here is where the lines sit.
Where each colleague’s expertise leads
- Sleep medicine. A sleep study is physician-ordered and physician-interpreted — we screen and refer, and do not diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. Oral appliance therapy follows a physician’s diagnosis, for patients with mild-to-moderate OSA who cannot tolerate or do not qualify for CPAP.
- ENT. Nasal obstruction, polyps, tonsils, and adenoids — the upper end of the sleep-disordered-breathing spectrum.
- Neurology. Headache differential — migraine, cluster, and sinus headache, and structural causes, are ruled out before head pain is attributed to TMD.
- Physical therapy and chiropractic. Musculoskeletal and postural care that complements orthotic therapy.
- Orthodontics. Skeletal and bite alignment once the airway and joint picture is understood.
- Oral surgery. Procedures such as arthrocentesis run under sedation and belong to an oral surgeon; we manage care before and after.
Your patient, your care: We coordinate with the specialists your patient already sees, and keep you in the loop throughout.
Refer a Patient
Prefer to talk through a case first? Call (385) 446-4947 and ask for Dr. Gunnerson. We report back after every evaluation.