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Meet Dr. Wang

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Joan C. Wang, DDS, MS

Diplomate, American Board of Orofacial Pain

Fellow, American Academy of Orofacial Pain

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Why Orofacial Pain Care?

In 2022, after 24 years of practicing general dentistry, I decided to transition my practice to focus on helping those suffering from Orofacial Pain disorders.

Like many of you, I have family members who suffer from chronic pain conditions. Two of my kids suffer from migraine headaches with auras. Other family members suffer from pain conditions that involved multiple misdiagnoses and wrong treatments, before the correct diagnosis was finally made. The stress from not knowing why you feel pain often makes people feel helpless and at the mercy of the pain. It's important not only to properly diagnose a condition, but to also provide a self-empowering therapy plan.

Pieces of the Puzzle

Imagine a healthy body and mind as a completed puzzle set with no missing pieces. Every symptom is like disconnecting a puzzle piece. Every bit of clinical information (an exam, history, lab results) helps us to figure out how put each piece back in its place. Other factors such as lifestyle choices, dietary choices and genetics can also disconnect these puzzle pieces. The key to restoring health is figuring out how to put all of the pieces back into place.

The Role of Inflammation

Inflammation affects nearly every cell in our body. Even low levels of chronic inflammation can result in pain and disease. Things like bacteria and viruses can increase inflammation. These are tough to avoid. However, our lifestyle choices can also affect the level of inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation can be the result of many years of poor lifestyle choices. Most of us live with highly inflamed bodies and have absolutely no clue. This is not all bad news because it means that we have some level of control over the inflammatory process. Much of inflammation can be reversible with lifestyle changes. Isn't it time to educate ourselves and take control over our bodies?

My Treatment Philosophy

I believe in following an evidence-based integrative, functional and holistic approach from diagnosis through treatment. What does that mean?

  • Evidence-based: I suggest treatment options that are backed by published research

  • Integrative: I combine the best of both conventional Western medicine and complementary/alternative (ie yoga, meditation, nutritional supplements, acupuncture) philosophies to determine the best treatment options for you

  • Functional: I use a patient-centered personalized approach to identify the root cause of disease in order to provide treatment

  • Holistic: I treat a person as an interconnected whole entity (body, mind, emotions), rather than an individual symptom

It is my hope that I can help patients avoid unnecessary treatment and provide therapy options to help patients regain control over their lives.

EDUCATION

University of Southern California - MS Orofacial Pain/Oral Medicine (2023)

University of Minnesota - Advanced Education in General Dentistry (1999)

University of Michigan - DDS (1998)

University of Michigan - BS Computer Science (1994)

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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

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Image by Bianca Ackermann
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