What is coronoid impingement of the jaw and consequences of no action.?

Question:

My 15 year old son just had his four wisdom teeth removed. He mentioned to the surgeon that he never could open his mouth very far (we just assumed that it was the way he was made and no dentist seemed concerned). After the surgery the doctor mentioned that he had to use a small infant or toddler sized block in our son’s mouth. He wondered if maybe our son had coronoid impingement. He wants to further discuss this when we take our son back next week for a check up on the surgery.

I have tried research this condition on the web and find that there is a woeful lack of information for the layperson. What exactly is this impairment and what type of consequences are there for doing nothing if he should indeed by diagnosed. Is this a progressive development? Is he a candidate for arthritic conditions in his jaw as he gets older? What type of questions should we be asking both his oral surgeon and any specialist about this?

Thank you for your time.

Answers:
No influence on arthritis. Every dentist learns about this in dental school. The question to ask is "What are the usual results after treatment?" I was going to describe the various possibilities. Just too complicated. There are some cases you want to treat because at some time it will cause a problem. There are others where treatment often makes it worse. You are doing good to get the exact diagnosis.

What is coronoid impingement of the jaw and consequences of no action.?

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