Journal List > J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg > v.37(6) > 1032511

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Kim, Kim, Hwang, Lee, Park, and Song: Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases
Original Article

J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg 2011;37(6):510-514.

Published online: 10 January 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5125/jkaoms.2011.37.6.510

Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases

Hyung-Mo Kim1, Tae-Wan Kim1, Ju-Hong Hwang1, Dong-Joo Lee2, Na-Rae Park2, Seung-Il Song1

1Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

2Advanced General Dentistry Course, Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

Seung-Il Song Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, San 5 Woncheon-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon 443-721, Korea TEL: +82-31-219-5330 FAX: +82-31-219-5329. E-mail: seungilsong@hanmail.net

Received 20 June 2011       Revised 9 June 2011       Accepted 12 October 2011

Copyright © 2011 Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

An intracapsular and pericapsular infection of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is rare. The invasion of bacteria into the joint space can occur through several routes. Among them, hematogenous spread is most common. This report describes three cases of abscess formation in the TMJ (intracapsular and pericapsular infection). The patients were treated with supportive care and surgical intervention (incision and drainage) under hospitalization, and their symptoms had improved. Pain of the TMJ is a typical symptom of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). On the other hand, an infection of the TMJ can also cause pain on the affected side, and can be misdiagnosed as routine TMD. Therefore, the possibility of an infection of the TMJ cavity should be considered when treating TMD.

Keywords: Infection, Temporomandibular joint, Temporomandibular joint disorders, Septic arthritis

References

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Fig. 1.
A. Clinical findings in Case 1. Hypoocclusion with ipsilateral posterior open bite. B. Computed tomography (CT) findings in Case 1. Coronal CTscan reveals intracapsular abscess formation in left temporomandibular joint with widened joint cavity (arrow). C. Treatment of Case 1. D. CT findings of postoperation in Case 1. One month follow-up CT-scan reveals a normal joint cavity. Hyung-Mo Kim et al: Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg 2011
jkaoms-37-510f1.tif
Fig. 2.
A, B. Computed tomography (CT) findings of Case 2. Diffuse inflammation and multifocal small abscess cavity around right temporomandibular joint (arrows). C. CT findings of postoperation in Case 2. Normal joint cavity was seen (1 month later). Hyung-Mo Kim et al: Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg 2011
jkaoms-37-510f2.tif
Fig. 3.
A, B. Computed tomography (CT) findings in Case 3. CT-scan reveals a right masticator space abscess with a low density mass (arrows). Hyung-Mo Kim et al: Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg 2011
jkaoms-37-510f3.tif
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