Indonesia Journal of Dentistry 2006; Edisi Khusus KPPIKG XIV: 308-311
The temporomandibular join has a very important role in the stomatognathic system. It's main function is for the opening and closing movement, mastication, and speech. It is located anterior to the ear. The temporomandibular joint connects maxilla and mandible through the articular fossa, hence the slightest change that happens would cause serious matters such as pain, eating, speech disorder, difficulty in opening and closing movement, headache, and event trismus. In a child or an adolescent, the symptoms are often vague; everything is interpreted as "pain". This is probably why temporomandibular disorder are often undetect by dentists. Therefore, patience and accuracy is needed to determine the actual disorder through means of clinical and radiographic examination. The radiographic examination suitable for child is the transcranial projection. This projection is believed to be more accurate amongst other projections for child patients.
