TMJ imaging in JIA patients—An overview

Involvement of the TMJ in children with JIA may lead to facial growth disturbances, pain, and/or impaired jaw function. For the prevention of such complications, early diagnosis of TMJ arthritis is paramount and a prerequisite for early treatment. Since clinical signs and symptoms from the TMJs frequently are absent, imaging plays a major role in diagnostic assessment. In earlier studies, conventional methods were applied, predominantly panoramic radiography. In the last decade, MRI has become the new standard for examining these joints because both joint inflammation and joint damage can be evaluated. This review will briefly focus on imaging modalities to assess JIA in the TMJ, imaging manifestations of JIA in the TMJ, frequency of TMJ involvement on imaging, clinical predictors of TMJ involvement, relationship between TMJ involvement on imaging and facial growth disturbance, longitudinal TMJ studies, image-guided intra-articular injections, differential diagnoses, and future need for research.