Chondrocalcinosis of the temporomandibular joint. Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease.

A case of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) arthropathy of the temporomandibular joint, seen in a 54-year-old woman, is reported. The patient presented an eight-year history of diffuse swelling with tenderness over the right preauricular region. Surgical exploration of the right temporomandibular joint disclosed calcified masses that were identified as CPPD crystalline materials by histologic and infrared spectrophotometric studies. The occurrence of CPPD arthropathy of the temporomandibular joint is very rare, and this is only the fourth report of such a case, to our knowledge.