Ab0602 Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Temporomandibular Joint: A Cross-Sectional Study About 128 Patient

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune inflammatory disorder that is characterized by joint inflammation and multiple joint involvement such as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which is a vital organ which is closely associated with masticatory and swallowing functions. Its defect or damage can severely reduces the patients quality of life Objectives: The aim of the study was to predict a possible link between RA and temporomandibular joint disorders. Methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study conducted at the dental and Rheumatology departments. We compared patients with RA and healthy ones. To achieve this objective, a clinical examination of TMJs was carried out in both groups. Results: A total of 128 patients were included in the study (95.3% women and 4.7% men) with a mean age of 51.1 ± 9.7 years. Among which 57 were diagnosed with RA and 71 were healthy. Within the group of patients with RA, highly active disease (DAS-28 ≥5.1) was found in 31 patients. Seventy-nine per cent of RA patients had Insufficient oral hygiene (compared to 56% in the control group). Among the sick patients, 26.3% had TMJ pain, 24.6% had joint sounds, 7% had a limitation of the mouth opening and 8.8% had a deviated mandibular trajectory. The control group exhibited results that were nearly comparable to the affected group (28.2% had TMJ pain, 29.6% had joint sounds, 12.7% had a limitation of the mouth opening and 14.1% had a deviated mandibular trajectory). Hence, there was not a significant difference between the two groups concerning temporomandibular joint disorders (p> 0.3). Conclusion: TMJ is usually among the last joints to be involved in RA, but, TMJ disorders are not rare in affected patients. Specialized examination of the TMJ is important since its deficiency greatly impacts the patients quality of life. REFERENCES: NIL. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.