Infection of the temporomandibular joint: a report of three cases

Abstract

(J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg 2011;37:510-4) 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.Key words: Infection, Temporomandibular joint, Temporomandibular joint disorders, Septic arthritis [paper submitted 2011. 6. 20 / revised 2011. 9. 6 / accepted 2011. 10. 12] infection' for convenience in this report. TMJ infection is required to be carefully examined since its initial symptoms start from pain and limitation of jaw movement similary to common temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Failure to initially diagnose TMJ infection may results in aggravation of symptoms and development of complications.This report describes three cases of TMJ infection which were successfully treated. II. Cases report Case 1A 46-year-old male visited the emergency room complaining of severe pain on left preauricular region and difficulty of jaw movement. The patient stated that he visited other hospital for the chief complaints of pain around the left TMJ before 5 days. He didn't get any examination there. He was diagnosised as common TMD and received some medications and instruction of mouth opening exercise. But the symptoms were aggravated with severe pain thereafter and visited our hospital. In physical examination, erythematous edema was observed at the left preauricular region, and the patient had a sense of induration

An unusual abscess formation in the masticator space after acupressure massage: a case report

“…Both patients were ultimately diagnosed with MSA. Kim et al 9 reported three cases of MSA that did not have an odontogenic origin. Of these, one patient had no specific etiology, one had an upper respiratory infection, and the other had experienced trauma to the chin.…”

“…Odontogenic causes include periodontitis, pericoronitis, dental caries, suppurative pulpitis, and post-tooth extraction infection 3 , 4 . In addition to these common causes, sinusitis 5 , sinus fracture 6 , posttraumatic osteomyelitis of the maxilla 7 , temporomandibular arthroscopy 8 , and trauma 3 , 9 can also cause MSA 4 , 10 .…”

“…Contiguous inoculation originates from adjacent inflammatory structures to the focal site. Finally, hematogenous inoculation involves intravenous seeding of microorganisms from a distant primary infectious site 9 ; hematogenous inoculation is rare in MSA cases 14 . Direct inoculation, such as post-extraction complications, is common among MSA cases.…”

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) as a significant etiological factor of laryngological infections: a review

“…This is a very complex system under permanent and dynamic changes throughout life. Infections of the TMJ in both intracapsular and pericapsular courses are rare diseases [100]. The predisposing factors for contributing to TMJ infections are divided into local factors, such as blunt trauma, history of joint diseases and burn, and systemic factors including autoimmune disease and overconsumption of medicines with special reference to steroids [57,101,102].…”

Septic arthritis in the temporomandibular joint

“…[ 2 ] Failure to promptly treat septic arthritis of the TMJ may result in joint dysfunction, fibrosis, and alkylosis. [ 3 ] This report describes a case of TMJ septic arthritis in a healthy 24-year-old male that was promptly treated and resolved without any complications.…”