TMJ Association

This is the living legend himself, the monstrosity known as Bear 32 or “Chunk”. He is the reigning fat bear week champion. These bears are so tough and resilient things that we can’t possibly imagine living with is nothing to them. Chunk suffered a broken jaw last year in a fight. Male bears go jaw to jaw when they fight, each trying to disable the other’s. Chunk survived and not only learned to adapt, he grew even bigger than before. Last year he weighed 1200lbs and a bear like this would be five feet tall when standing on all four legs and over nine feet tall standing upright.

🐻 Chunk is back!
Last year’s Fat Bear Week champion, Chunk, is back to defend his title! Chunk made headlines after suffering a broken jaw, an injury that could have made it difficult for him to eat and survive. But he adapted, continued feeding, and thrived.
Chunk’s story is a reminder that adapting to challenges can help us move forward. For people living with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), finding ways to manage symptoms and live well can also take strength and resilience.
We’re cheering for Chunk—and for everyone living with TMDs! 💙
https://www.popsci.com/environment/chunk-returns-ahead-of-fat-bear-week-2026/

Big boy Chunk returns ahead of Fat Bear Week 2026 Last year's champion is back, busted jaw and all.

A recent study in Nature Communications identified a lymphatic network within the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), offering new insight into how inflammation and pain may develop and persist. While more research is needed to understand what this means for patients, the findings open an important new direction for TMD research.

Learn more: https://conta.cc/4xmqgat

The TMJ Association is proud to participate in the first annual NIH TMD IMPACT Collaborative meeting in Dallas, TX, bringing together researchers, clinicians, NIH staff, and people with lived experience to help shape the future of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) research.

Several of our patient partners are participating in meeting sessions and sharing their lived experiences. We’re grateful to our patients for lending their voices and helping ensure that the patient perspective remains at the heart of TMD research.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently featured temporomandibular disorders (TMD) during a Clinical Center Grand Rounds presentation by Hai Yao, PhD, and Janice Lee, DDS, MD, MS.

The presentation highlighted how researchers, clinicians, engineers, and patient advocates are working across disciplines to advance TMD research and improve patient care. By combining expertise in dentistry, medicine, pain research, imaging, engineering, and other fields, these collaborations are helping improve our understanding of TMD and advance better diagnostic tools and evidence-based treatments.

Watch the presentation:
https://conta.cc/46lucNP

web-extract.constantcontact.com

“I’m not brave… I just know how to handle it.” — Johnny Cash

After 34 surgeries on his jaw, Cash faced incredible pain from TMJ complications. His story reminds us: living with jaw pain takes strength every day.
Listen at 3:50: PBS link: https://conta.cc/4zVp2pf