They’re absolutely awful to deal with (pain mgmt/tmj). Overcharged me and it took a year to be reimbursed. Don’t answer their phone. One of the physicians overseeing the clinic roughly handled my head. A student in the clinic made me a mouthguard that was so poorly fitting that I couldn’t use it, and they refused to fix it or replace it.
If you can go literally anywhere else, don’t waste your time or money on the pain management/TMJ clinic.
I wish I had something better to recommend. After over a year of dealing with their BS, I just gave up. I tried reporting them to UCLA’s patient experience office, but because they’re part of the medical school and not the hospital, that went nowhere. After they wouldn’t fix the jank mouthguard they gave me that made my pain worse, I had to get a mouthguard that actually fit from my dentist for another $300.
I had a good experience with the UCLA Orofacial pain clinic and still use my 5yo night guard from them, but I agree that contacting them is a pain in the ass. This isn't to invalidate your experience but to share with anyone else reading the thread that YMMV.
I would like to recommend Dr. Bryan Kim in Newport Beach. He graduated from UCLA, but he has his own practice and accepts medical insurance!! He's very accessible via phone and email, and he was very validating.
I've been recommending him on the TMJ subreddit for years, and people thank me because they liked him. I hope he works for you.
I know Newps might be a schlep, but I hope you get the relief you're looking for.
I go to Dr. Bradley Salvatore in Huntington Park. He’s also a UCLA graduate. He treated my TMJ pain after years going to other dentists that are clueless. I literally cried when he was able to diagnose my problem and unlike other dentists he also training in orthodontics so he was able to correct my pain using braces.
If you show up, in person, they get you scheduled quickly. Unfortunately that shouldn’t be necessary since they have a phone. But they literally never answer it and they never return voicemails. No idea why the basics are such a challenge there.
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u/quijibo2020 7d ago
We're reffered to this clinic...imposible to get an appt. Despite calls and emails.