| Research Abstract |
In order to understand the dental and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis, 142 female patients were compared with 143 control subjects of the same age. The number of remaining teeth and edentulous rate were significantly lower in the RA group than non-RA group. Meanwhile, the number of DMF teeth, as well as frequency of complete denture and removable partial dentures were significantly higher in the RA group. In RA, the incidence of subjective symptoms was 1.4% for pain in the TMJ, 4.9% for pain on mouth opening, and 14.8% for difficulty with mouth opening. Further, signs of TMJ tenderness were found in 9.2%, clicking in 12.7%, and crepitus in 35.9% of those patients. A significantly greater number of subjects who demonstrated crepitus were found in the RA group than the non-RA group. As for temporomandibular disorders (TMD), the incidence was 67.6% in the RA group and 32.9% in the non-RA group. The occurrence of degenerative joint disorders was most frequent among patients with TMD, which was found to correlate with Steinbrocker's stage and RA disease duration.
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