Causes of Temporomandibular Joint Disease

Connective Tissue Diseases

There are a few connective tissue diseases that might cause problems throughout the body, with the temporomandibular joint being just one of the multiple areas affected. The best known is mixed connective tissue disease, otherwise known as MCTD. This disorder has a mixture of features from systemic lupus, systemic sclerosis, polymyositis, and erythematosus.

The most important thing to understand is MCTD can cause widespread problems with joint pain. It also causes issues with the internal organs, muscle weakness, and possible skin abnormalities. Diagnosis of MCTD comes from an analysis of the symptoms and blood tests that show the related levels of the necessary antibodies. MCTD is another autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack itself. It can be treated with the same methods most other autoimmune diseases use. If a person develops TMJ disorders as a result of the joint pain caused by MCTD, the best course of actionis to treat the MCTD rather than the joint itself.

Continue reading to learn about other facial pains related to TMJ disorders.