TRAUMATIC TMJ INJURY

외상성 악관절 손상

Mandibular trauma is developed due to traffic accident, fall down, industrial injury, and others. TMJ disorder is usually also developed after facial traumatic injury. Many authors suggested that disc displacement or tearing, acute synovitis, TMJ ankylosis, traumatic arthritis, or effusion are developed after facial trauma. It is still very controversible what is the best treatment of TMJ injury such as condylar fracture and meniscal injury. In TMJ injury, synovial inflammation is developed and pain mediators such as prostaglandin E2 or leukotriene B4 are released from the synovial membrane. This can be a cause of TMJ disorder. I present a variety of experimental study about the condylar fracture and meniscal injury and enzyme-immunoassay of synovial fluid after mandibular trauma that have been studied since 1992 and establish the treatment criteria of traumatic TMJ injury. I think that the treatment option of condylar fracture depends upon the surgeon's criteria exclusively. There are no significant differences between conservative and surgical treatment. If the aggressive functional physical therapy and long-term followup be performed, the favorable functional recovery of TMJ can be obtained. And I think that the initial surgical management of meniscus of TMJ is unnecessary in condylar fracture. And also arthrocentesis can be available to release the patient's subjective symptoms and improve the healing of injured TMJ.