JIA can lead to problems in your jaw

It is understandably difficult to relate a disease of the elderly to a child. It is very important to see your child’s rheumatologist regularly but it is also important to see the dentist or orthodontist to make sure JIA is now in your jaws.

Arthritis is your jaws is called, TMD is not just one disorder, but a group of conditions, often painful, that affect the jaw joint (temporomandibular joint, or TMJ) and the muscles that control chewing. TMD disorders fall into three main categories: myofascial pain, internal derangement of the joint, and degenerative joint disease, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the jaw joint.

Catherine has it in both her jaws, and had two joint injections in Jan 2011, to help with the pain.