Two cases of posterior open bite caused by the thickness of retrodiscal tissue in the temporomandibular joint

Abstract

There have been few reports of mouth closing disturbances in the final phase of occlusion caused by the posterior thickness of the retrodiscal tissue. Two such cases are described here. The first was a 70-year-old female suffering from a painless mouth closing disturbance on the right side of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). She complained of a feeling like there was an air cushion. The second case was a 51-year-old male with a painless mouth closing disturbance on the left side of the TMJ. In both cases, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed enlargement of the posterior joint space on the affected side. The conditions of these two cases were improved by local injection of steroid preparations; however further additional treatments were required, including mandible traction in one case and dental prosthetics in the other. Consequently, we consider that the local injection of steroid preparations is useful as an initial treatment, while the use of local injection of steroid preparations alone is not sufficient for the treatment of posterior thickness of the retrodiscal tissue.