Accurately diagnosing and treating TMDs can be a difficult and confusing task. Many patients have symptoms associated with more than one disorder and these relationships can make diagnosis and treatment decisions very difficult. This is often true primarily because patient's symptoms do not always fit into one classification. In many instances several classifications seem to be appropriate because in reality the patient is suffering from more than one disorder. In many patients, one disorder contributes to another. The interrelationship of the various TMDs always needs to be considered in the evaluation and treatment of patients.