The temporomandibular joint in rheumatoid arthritis: correlations between clinical and tomographic features

Clinical and radiological involvement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varies greatly in the literature. Clinical and tomographic (sagittal plane) examination of the TMJ was performed in 26 patients with RA and 26 control subjects. Sixty-one per cent of the RA group had physical signs in the TMJ, compared with 42% in the control group (NS). Sixty-nine per cent of the RA group had erosive or cystic lesions of the TMJ compared with 31% of control subjects (P < 0.01). The clinical dysfunction score did not correlate with the tomographic TMJ score in patients with RA. It was found that a wide range of tomographic abnormalities occurs in patients with RA and in patients without the disease, and that there are no tomographic abnormalities specific for RA; however, the incidence of erosions and cysts of the mandibular condyle are significantly higher in patients with RA (P < 0.01), and should suggest the diagnosis. It was also found that there is no correlation between the clinical and tomographic findings of the TMJ in RA, and that the intensity of destructive lesions of the TMJ on tomography in RA is well correlated to the severity of the disease (evaluated with clinical and laboratory features).