Clinical-surgical treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder in a psoriatic arthritis patient

INTRODUCTION: Condylotomy is a surgical procedure that has been used as an option to treat temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. This technique has the advantage of avoiding intra-capsular alterations that might be found involving other surgical procedures. Its use, even when unilateral, has positive effect on treatment of both joints. METHODS: In order to better evaluate the benefits of a clinical-surgical treatment for TMD, the present report describes the case of a psoriatic arthritis patient. The case was clinically characterized by dental malloclusion, and imaging exams showed joint degeneration of the right mandibular condyle. The patient was treated by condylotomy technique after a prosthetic oral rehabilitation. RESULTS: No clinical-radiological signs or symptoms of progression of articular disease were observed within a period of 16 months after surgery. Furthermore, there was functional stability of the temporomandibular joint, total absence of local pain and improvement of mouth opening. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that condylotomy can be considered as a valid option for the management of TMD, since it has low surgical morbidity and favorable clinical outcomes. In this case, the patient had a medical diagnosis of systemic disease presenting general pain and pain at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), in addition of causal agent of TMD (dental malloclusion). The difficulty of finding a single etiology (malocclusion vs. systemic disease) did not exclude the indication of a clinical-surgical treatment to re-establish the balance of TMJ.