Treatment of the Temporomandibular Joint in a Child with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

ABSTRACT

The oral and maxillofacial surgeon is instrumental in the management and care of pediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and should include JIA in the differential when evaluating pediatric patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction. Medical management has largely decreased the need for surgical intervention, but these patients may require intraarticular steroid injections of the TMJ, close follow-up to monitor their facial growth, and management of the subsequent postinflammatory degenerative TMJ changes. This article reviews the oral and maxillofacial surgeon's role in the care of patients with JIA involvement in the TMJ.