EELCO HAKMAN ABSTRACT

Presidential lecture. Prof. Dr. Eelco Hakman

TMJ’s Fairy Tale: where are the gnomes who pull the muscles, and why are they pulling them? 

Mother nature, or maybe God, has given us 5 senses.

The visual memory of a dental specialist is one of the best in the academic field: congratulations.

Psychopathology – probably responsible for 80% of the TMJ complaints – can’t be seen with your eyes, but can be heard with your ears.

The auditive memory  of a dental specialist, however, is one of the worst in the academic field: how sad.

How can you understand a TMJ patient? By listening to Bach, practicing Tennis, understanding Sex, be aware of Cocaine, Ecstasy and Red Bull, the inability to Let Go, and by listening to your patients and colleagues.

In essence, you will have to start looking with your ears.

This presidential lecture is about science and gravity.

In our attempts to reach for the stars, or to become a star, gravity is what grounds us.

Yet, in the very end you will discover, that the only thing that can lift you up to the stars, is the (not evidence based) secret called love.