Contemporary Clinical Dentistry (Jan 2015)

Rheumatoid arthritis affecting temporomandibular joint

  • Amandeep Sodhi,
  • Shobha Naik,
  • Anuradha Pai,
  • Ardra Anuradha

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-237X.149308
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 124 – 127

Abstract

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune inflammatory disorder that is characterized by joint inflammation, erosive properties and symmetric multiple joint involvement. Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is very rare to be affected in the early phase of the disease, thus posing diagnostic challenges for the dentist. Conventional radiographs fail to show the early lesions due to its limitations. More recently cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been found to diagnose the early degenerative changes of TMJ and hence aid in the diagnosis of the lesions more accurately. Our case highlights the involvement of TMJ in RA and the role of advanced imaging (CBCT) in diagnosing the bony changes in the early phase of the disease.

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