Effects of polyarticular and pauciarticular onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis on facial and mandibular growth.

Objective: To characterize the functional and morphologic effects of polyarticular and pauciarticular onset juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Methods: Medical and dental histories, intraoral, lateral cephalometric, and panoramic radiographs, facial photographs, and dental study models were obtained for each of 30 patients with JRA (17 pauciarticular and 13 polyarticular onset). Measures of TMJ dysfunction were gathered during the clinical examination, and an index of condylar morphology was inferred from the panoramic radiographs.