Septic arthritis of the temporomandibular joint after the removal of third molars

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) infections arising from facial trauma and head and neck infectious disease are not common. Murakami et al and McCain et al have documented TMJ infections after TMJ arthroscopy. TMJ infection after the removal of third molars is even more rare. This report presents a case of an acute, septic left TMJ in which the probable source of infection was a posterior maxillary abscess in conjunction with a pterygomasseteric abscess occurring after extraction of the left upper and lower third molars.