Borrelia burgdorferi--a potentially aetiological factor in TMJ disorders? Preliminary report

The available literature does not report on infectious factors potentially triggering intra-articular pathology or dysfunction manifest as temporomandibular (TMJ) disorders.

To establish the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochaetes in the histopathological material obtained from the intra-articular space by arthroscopy from patients with advanced TMJ disorders.

The histopathological material was obtained intra-articularly from 31 patients by means of arthroscopy; apart from routine H+E staining, the material was additionally examined for the presence of micro-organisms (spirochaetes) by the Warthin-Starry method.

Seven out of 31 patients presenting with manifesting TMJ dysfunction had spirochaetes detected in the histopathological material; their shape and size resembling B. burgdorferi bacteria.

This paper is the first to indicate that in borreliosis the infective agent may localize itself to the temporomandibular joint. This observation cannot be ignored when analyzing the pathogenesis of TMJ degeneration especially that tick-borne infections with spirochaetes are definitely more common than it is generally believed.