A to Z of the Temporo-Mandibular Joint : not until we are lost that we begin to understand ourselves

Good prosthodontic treatment bears a direct relation to the temporomandibular articulation, since occlusion is one of the most important part of treatment of patients with complete denture. The temporomandibular joints affect the dentures and likewise dentures affect the health and function of temporomandibular joint. Therefore the knowledge of temporomandibular joint is very important for the treatment of prosthodontic patients to qualify as a true health service. Precision is the key to prosthodontics and it is thus imperative that restoration are made as accurately as possible. This is best achieved by the use of hinge axis concept and thus it should be incorporated into routine clinical practice to achieve optimum results. In order to understand fully the nature of this joint, one must begin with its evolutionary history, for its popular evolution explained its astonishing embryological development, from which comes its unique gross and histological structure, all of this reaching final clinical significance in the various functional and morphologic disorders seen in this joint.