JIA is one of the most common chronic joint diseases in childhood
and represents a series of chronic inflammatory arthritis that develop before the age of 16 years
. It normally persists for at least 6 weeks and has no identifiable cause and is significantly distinct from adult rheumatoid arthritis
. JIA has been shown to affect up to 150 in 100,000 children around the globe
and has a significant debilitating effect on these young children. Depending on the subtype, TMJ involvement may occur in 17% to 87% and is often dependent on diagnostic criteria and ethnicity.
