James Fricton, DDS, MS

Dr. James Fricton, DDS, MS, is a distinguished clinician, researcher, and educator whose career has profoundly advanced the understanding and treatment of head, neck, and orofacial pain. As co-founder of the Minnesota Head and Neck Pain Clinic, he is dedicated to helping patients manage complex pain conditions and sleep-related disorders through evidence-based, multidisciplinary care. His clinical expertise spans temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, facial pain syndromes, and the integration of medical and dental approaches to chronic pain prevention and management.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Fricton serves as a Professor at the University of Minnesota and a Senior Research Associate at the HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research. His research focuses on linking medical and dental data, developing clinical decision-support tools, and empowering patients to take an active role in their own pain management. As principal investigator for several national initiatives—including the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research’s TMJ Implant Registry and Repository—Dr. Fricton continues to shape policy and practice in orofacial pain management and health informatics.

A graduate of the University of Iowa, where he earned his BS and DDS degrees, Dr.
Fricton went on to complete his residency and master’s degree in anesthesiology and pain management at UCLA. He is board certified in orofacial pain and recognized for his leadership in advancing collaborative, technology-driven approaches to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of dental and medical care. Through his teaching, research, and patient care, Dr. Fricton remains committed to improving outcomes for individuals living with chronic pain while fostering innovation in the fields of dentistry and healthcare informatics.

• University of Iowa - DDS
• University of Califonia, Los Angeles - MS
• University of California, Los Angeles - Residency, Anesthesiology and Pain Management, 1978-1980

• Temporomandibular Disorders
• Sleep Dentistry
• Board Certified in Orofacial Pain

Dr. Fricton is a prolific author whose work spans over a hundred publications focused on chronic pain, orofacial and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and digital-health strategies for self-management. His research has included systematic reviews, prospective cohort studies, and randomized trials—such as work on the transition from acute to chronic TMD pain, development of self-management programs, and the use of health-information tools in dental medicine. Through his contributions he has helped bridge pain science, patient education technology, and clinical decision-support tools for improving care and prevention of chronic pain. He has also written three fiction novels.