NIDCR launched an initiative in spring 2008 to raise awareness about temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders and the availability of the Institute's patient education booklet on this topic, TMJ Disorders. The overall goal of this awareness effort is to help people with TMJ problems make prudent decisions about their care. The message "Less is Often Best in Treating TMJ" targets women ages 25-44, the group most commonly affected by this condition, and cautions against unnecessary and potentially harmful treatments. Media kits and email blasts sent to editors of national women's and health magazines highlight the issues addressed in the TMJ Disorders booklet and include "Less is Often Best" ready-for-print ads featuring women in the TMJD demographic.

Channeling this outreach effort to the local community, NIDCR arranged with the Washington DC area transit system to display "Less is Often Best" ads on metro buses throughout the city and at Metro subway stations in areas where large numbers of women in the target population work and live.

Links to the TMJ Disorders booklet, article for consumers, and advertisements suitable for use in newsletters, magazines and other publications are available on the TMJD page of the NIDCR website: http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/TMJ/.