Jaw Pain and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disease of
unknown cause afflicting more than two million Americans by current
estimates. It can affect literally any joint in the body as well as
other organs.
Rheumatoid arthritis or RA begins with inflammation of the synovial membrane that surrounds the joints, then becomes invasive and destroys cartilage and bone. This causes pain, stiffness and deformity along with loss of function if not effectively treated. It can occur at any age from childhood to the senior years but begins most commonly between 30 and 50 years of age.
Most people think of rheumatoid arthritis as primarily affecting the hands and feet and legs but all joints are vulnerable. One that may not common to mind is that in the human jaw. The lower jaw, or mandible, attaches to the skull in the area of the temporal bone above the ear and the joint is called the temporal mandibular joint, or more commonly the TMJ.
RA affects the TMJ in about 17% of all patients and usually it is one of the last joints to be affected. Thus it is more commonly seen in those with the most severe and difficult to treat disease. The joint is more fragile and easily damaged in the elderly, but it is more common to develop osteoarthritis in this age group.
RA of the jaw can cause considerable disability with pain on chewing or even while speaking. The best plan is to avoid its development by good control of the RA with medical therapy but if it occurs there are things that can be done.
Some patients get relief from injections of steroids or sometimes anesthetics and steroids directly into the joint. More aggressive therapy of the underlying disease may help as well, or the current protocol may be changed to different drugs.
Surgery is another option for RA in the TMJ location. It has been used mostly for people with TMJ syndrome unrelated to arthritis but may be attempted when pain cannot otherwise be controlled or when mobility is lost. It is of course better to treat vigorously to try to prevent the disease in the first place.
While only 17% of RA patients develop jaw arthritis that is still
more than 300,000 people with this unpleasant and possibly disabling
condition. Patients with RA should notify their doctors when and if
jaw pain occurs to determine the cause and start correct treatment. .
Resources
RA and other causes of jaw pain:
www.merck.com/
About.com arthritis site with jaw pain information: www.arthritis-treatment-and-relief.com/
Journal of Rheumatology article on arthritis and jaw pain: www.jrheum.com/
First person discussions about RA and jaw problems: arthritisinsight.com