Early diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis through temporomandibular disorders symptoms: clinical insights from a long-term follow-up case series.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most prevalent chronic rheumatic disease in children. Temporomandibular joint involvement is common but often asymptomatic, with overlapping temporomandibular disorders making diagnosis challenging. This report describes ten pediatric patients diagnosed with both temporomandibular disorders and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Evaluation included clinical, psychological, hematologic, and radiologic assessments. Temporomandibular disorders symptoms were assessed after 6 months of dental and rheumatologic management. Temporomandibular joint involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis frequently precedes systemic symptoms and may occur even when blood markers appear negative, highlighting the importance of imaging for early diagnosis and timely intervention. Conventional temporomandibular disorders treatment combined with rheumatologic interventions generally yield favorable results even when juvenile idiopathic arthritis underlies temporomandibular disorders symptoms.