Orthopaedic treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) damage in adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): longitudinal evaluation.

TMJ involvement has been reported in all subsets of JIA. The prevalence of radiographic changes of TMJs varies from 30% to 65%, and 50–80% of children with JIA will have evidence of TMJ arthritis by MRI and by sonographic exam (SE) (effusions, synovial enhancement, condylar flattening and/or erosions, thickness of masseter muscle) before evidence of X-ray damage. At disease onset local injections with steroids or/and anti-TNF alpha blockers are recommended, but when joint damage is late recognized orthopedic treatment is suggested. Our aim is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of orthopedic treatment in a cohort of adolescents and young adults with JIA.