Myoarthopathy of the Chewing Apparatus (MAP)

Myoarthopathy of the Chewing Apparatus or MAP is a useful term for painful symptoms associated with the chewing apparatus or the jaw joints. The term MAP actually makes more sense than CMD or TMD as these terms could easily include all kinds of harmless complaints such as clicking of the jaw or where the different rows of teeth do not fully make contact. With MAP, the actual suffering of the patient is very much in the foreground. But, even though it is a more precise term than either CMD or TMD, it will not be used on this website because it is rarely used outside Switzerland and the other German-speaking countries.

MAP of the Chewing System is therefore a descriptive generic term. This long Latin name should not mislead people into believing that they have a serious illness because MAP is actually benign and self-limiting and usually disappears without treatment.