A 76-year-old woman, with a medical history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, presented herself to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with a sudden pre-auricular swelling of the right temporomandibular joint. As a result of the atypical clinical appearance and signs of local destruction in the initial panoramic x-ray, a malign process was first eliminated from consideration. With the aid of extensive diagnostics and an open biopsy, the diagnosis of gout was established.