I can honestly say that Dr. Gelb is my hero. I never had TMJ problems before and I was never aware this type of issue existed. I was diagnosed with a form of Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 13, so when my jaw started hurting, I attributed it to that. However, one day I bit into a peanut butter sandwich and everything changed. My jaw locked in place and I felt the most excruciating pain. At first, my jaw would lock once every few weeks, but it quickly increased to locking every day, multiple times a day. My jaw locked for up to an hour at one point. I was only 15 and it was occurring while I was in school or hanging out with friends. My mom brought me to a total of 8 different doctors who either had no idea what/why this was happening or prescribed me pain killers that would just knock me out and prevented me from doing my best in class. One doctor even thought I was lying about my jaw and asked if I was just Depressed. He laughed at me. I gave up all hope and then one day my mom discovered the Gelb Center and brought me. I had no expectations and thought I would have to live with such horrible pain for the rest of my life. Dr. Gelb changed everything for me.

He was extremely thorough and took photos and x-rays of my jaw, muscles, and teeth. He was so nice and really took the time to listen to all of my complaints. His assistants were also incredibly nice and thorough. He fitted me for two bite plates, one for sleeping, and one for the day time.

By leaving them in and following his instructions, I can say with complete honesty, that my jaw has not locked since the day he helped me. It has been almost 5 years since I have been seeing him and I have no more clicking, locking, pain, discomfort, my headaches decreased, and my face is not as round as it used to be. My muscles are no longer tense and I have a clear jaw line. Dr. Gelb even helped me in determining my sleeping problems. He sent me for an overnight sleep test and recommended I go see Dr. Rickert, an ENT. My tonsils needed to be removed and afterward, my sleep got so much better.

My insurance does not cover his visits, which is the only downside, and recently there have been some problems with the staff at the front desk. In the past few months, there was a constant back-and-forth with my insurance, me, and his staff in getting me a new bite plate. Dr. Gelb is doing his best in hiring better staff and giving his patients the care they deserve. He gave me three new bite plates free of charge due to what was happening and is making sure that his staff properly helps.

He is the only doctor I will ever trust with my TMJ and the only doctor who seemed to really care and want to help me. Dr. Gelb made sure to assist me in finding me a Rheumatologist, Physical Therapist, and ENT.

By far the best doctor in NYC. I highly recommend people see him because TMJ can be solved and linked to so many daily problems!

Erica-M
Erica M. Brooklyn, NY

I went to see Dr. Gelb because I couldn’t open my mouth more than a 1/4 of an inch from how bad my TMJ problem had become, Dr. Gelb did a great job alleviating the pain and readjusting my jaw, my face is even looking better (one side was caving in from the misalignment caused by my grinding)!! I had seen other dentists in the past who had made me mouth guards to help protect my teeth from grinding, but not addressing the underlying problems (arthritis in the jaw, for example). Now that I live in California, I trek across the country every few months for him to adjust my appliance. I love Dr. Gelb’s energy, efficiency, and ability to make me laugh. His staff is great, very professional and always kind. Lastly, his hygienist is amazing! First time I’ve had my teeth cleaned without pain from my overly sensitive teeth. And she’s incredibly sweet and a joy to be around.

Henry
Henri V. Los Gatos, CA

Dr. Michael Gelb is world-renowned and extremely knowledgeable in disorders of the TMJ. He is also well-versed in Sleep Medicine. He lectures locally, nationally and internationally as he is the “go-to-source”. He is a friend who is always willing to give a helping hand no matter what the situation. Though his fees are reasonably priced, it is well worth going to someone who helped write the book on TMD with his father and has a patented oral device that he created and bears his name When I have a challenging case that I cannot handle, I refer them to the last source, Dr. Michael Gelb because if he can’t help them, no one else can! By the way, I would not pay attention to the hate speech from people that are not necessarily patients. In fact, they might even be the competition. I highly recommend The Gelb Center.

Nick M. Manhattan, NY
Nick M. Manhattan, NY

Thankyou Dr. Gelb. Wait – let me say it 1 more time: Thank you Dr. Gelb. My TMJ really screwed with my day to day life. Head in a vice, Masseter pain – the whole nine yards. Saw dentists, oral surgeons, tried bite plates, heat, Advil, etc. Maybe I’ll get some pain alleviation for a few days – but then it was right back. I knew I had to find a TMJ specialist – so I made my way to Dr. Gelb’s office. I was a bit skeptical as I really only see doctors that are recommended to me, or that I’ve been seeing for years. Dr. Gelb & his staff were extremely friendly – listened to everything I had to say – were open – and most of all explained what was wrong – and what I needed to do to get better. He made me a few different mouth guards (daytime/nighttime) – and referred me to a physical therapist (Integrative PT of NYC). It’s been about 2 months since my initial consultation and my improvement is pretty insane. I’m still nervous the TMJ may resurface, but this is the longest I’ve gone in a while without any TMJ pain. The mouth guards work (and don’t disrupt my daily routine) – and physical therapy has been incredible. Even when I came back for my follow-up, Dr. Gelb stopped what he was doing, came into see me, sat down, spoke to me, went over improvements/next steps – and was extremely attentive. TMJ sucks .. thankfully the tri-state area has the Gelb Center.

Brian R. Manhattan, NY
Brian R. Manhattan, NY

I cannot say enough positive good things about Dr. Gelb and his staff. I came to him (very skeptical I might add) and he turned my life around for the better almost immediately. I had been misdiagnosed for years before this appointment. He was the first doctor in a long time that actually listened, made a plan and followed through with me every step of the way. His staff is friendly, first rate and very attentive. He made me 2 appliances at first and I got immediate relief day and night. He also recommended physical therapy and that was a great help.
I now have no headaches and most important I’m able to get a good night’s sleep. The process might be considered lengthy by some but completely worth it if you’re suffering.

Mary T
Mary T. Putnam Valley, NY

I could never say enough good about DR.Gelb …he literally saved my life!!..I went to 6 doctors, yes 6! Without any of them know why I was having terrible Ear fullness and Titus that kept me up throughout the night …I had to actually take a LOA from work because it became so difficult to deal with that I became super depressed and felt so bad for my 8-year-old son..it was true torture…the upsetting moment after leaving every doctor with unanswered questions as to why??? I had a brain MRI, I had multiple hearing tests I was placed on anti-inflammatory medicine. NOTHING worked, finally, an ENT said maybe TMJ? that’s when my mother found DR. Gelb … the CAT scan showed my jaw had basically collapsed on my ear and was blocking a huge part of my airway which caused a struggle to breathe at night….yes it’s a cost center but I would spend every dollar because it is worth it ,I spent 400 on a mouth guard from my dentist prior that did absolutely nothing…less than 24 hours after wearing these mouth pieces from DR. Gelb my ear opened up because the mouth piece already began to reconfigure my jaw ..by my next visit all my issues were practically gone those mouth pieces are Gold!!!!! Dr. Gelb is my GOD send .. not only did they help my jaw.. but I stopped snoring like a bear and rarely get migraines like I used to quite frequently … This man is amazing … I love you Dr.Gelb and forever thankful to you.

Melissa D. Queens, NY
Melissa D. Queens, NY

I’ve been suffering from severe (sometimes week long) migraines for the past two years related to TMJ issues from neck surgery. I’ve seen an ENT the past 9 months who only gave me botox which did provide short-term relief. However, I decided to switch to Dr. Gelb as I needed a specialist for a long-term solution. From the start of my interactions with the team through meeting and being treated by Dr. Gelb, the process was seamless and I felt very comfortable and more informed than ever. I was impressed with the level of administrative and medical professionalism- they go out of their way to ensure an in-depth evaluation is done for not only a treatment plan but to work with your insurance company to help with coverage. An in-depth evaluation was done and more importantly, Dr. Gelb explained everything to me in a way I could understand. Very please. I intend to continue my treatment with the Dr and would recommend other migraine/TMJ sufferers to see Dr. Gelb, as finding a good practice is hard to come by.

Brian M
Bryan M. New York, NY