Patient Information

Division of Facial Pain

Members of this division of the Department of Orthodontics focus their clinical practice and research on the etiology, diagnosis and management of patients with facial pain. The clinical practice involves the differential diagnosis of a variety of sources of facial pain including musculoskeletal (temporomandibular disorders or TMD and cervical muscle sources), odontogenic (tooth), vascular (migraine), neuropathic (nerve related), otolaryngologic (sinus) and headaches. Due to limited resources, management of only a small portion of patients with these disorders will be treated by the facial pain practitioners; when possible, others will be referred to the appropriate medical specialty. For more information, call 352.273.7619.

Faculty

Charles Widmer, D.D.S., M.S.

Associate Professor
Division Head

Dr. Widmer received his D.D.S. from Emory University in 1981 and an M.S. degree in Oral Sciences from SUNY/Buffalo in 1983. He was recruited to Emory University School of Dentistry as an Assistant Professor in 1983 and was appointed Director of the Facial Pain Clinic in 1984 until the closure of Emory University School of Dentistry in 1991. Dr. Widmer subsequently accepted a position at the University of Florida College of Dentistry where he has continued his NIH funded research, teaching and patient care. Dr. Widmer’s clinical practice includes differential diagnosis of various facial pain conditions with a limited management focus primarily on masticatory musculoskeletal disorders. His research interests include masticatory muscle motor control mechanisms, the biological basis of masticatory muscle pain and mechanisms of masticatory muscle injury and repair.

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John K. Neubert, D.D.S., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Dr. Neubert completed his dental (1994) and orofacial pain management (1996) training at the UCLA School of Dentistry and finished a Clinical Research Fellowship (2003) at the National Institutes of Health before joining the faculty at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. His clinical interests include seeing individuals suffering from neuropathic pains, temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and headaches. His research involves investigating basic mechanisms of pain transmission in the orofacial region and he is currently running a clinical trial examining the role of the chili pepper (capsaicin) receptor on TMD.