The most critical aspect of treating TMD is finding the right treatment bite.  Traditional dentistry as taught by most dental schools and The Pankey Institute involves jaw manipulation.  In this procedure the doctor physically manipulates the patients jaw to a position where the two heads (condyles) of the lower jaw fit into a space in the skull (fossa).  The justification for this is that it is a repeatable position.  This position ignores the pathway in which the muscles would guide the lower jaw to when relaxed and in a healthy state.