A clinical study on temporomandibular joint ankylosis in children

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis is a disabling condition of the masticatory system and is most commonly due to trauma, infections, and some systemic diseases. Hypomobility affects the surrounding structures as well as the joint itself. Ankylosis arising in early childhood usually leads to facial asymmetry. Ankylosis in children usually occurs from an intracapsular compression fracture or rarely from a suppurative arthritis of middle ear infection.Treatment of the ankylosis is probably one of the greatest challenges in TMJ surgery, and the treatment of TMJ ankylosis in children is much more challenging than in adults because of high recurrence and the probable change in the unpredictable growth of the mandible. In treatment of TMJ ankylosis in children, to maintain a normal growth and the development of the face is as important as to provide a satisfactory mouth opening with free movement of the mandible.A variety of techniques and various success rates in the treatment of TMJ ankylosis both in adults and in children have been reported. However, no single method has produced uniformly successful results. In this study, gap arthroplasty was applied in 6 patients, and 2 different types of fossa implants were used as interpositional material in the other 8 patients, and the results of the treatments have been evaluated retrospectively.