title: Oral manifestations in Rett syndrome: a study of 17 cases.
abstract: Seventeen patients with a mean age of 7.33 (range 2.7-12.7) years with Rett syndrome (a progressive neurological disorder that occurs mainly in females) were evaluated for oral manifestations and habits. The most frequent habits were digit/hand sucking and/or biting (17/17), bruxism (14/17), mouth breathing (7/17), drooling (5/17), and tongue thrusting (5/17). Gingivitis (13/17) was the most common alteration of soft tissues. Only 2.7% of tooth surfaces were decayed. Nonphysiological dental attrition was present in 71% (12/17) of the children. Palatal shelving could be observed in 53% (9/17) of the children, probably related to the digit/hand sucking and/or biting habits. A high prevalence of anterior open bite (9/17) was observed. No patients exhibited anomalies of tooth number, size, form, structure, or eruption.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Birman
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D002012:Bruxism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005386:Fingersucking; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D009058:Mouth Breathing / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D009909:Oral Health; D015518:Rett Syndrome / Q000150:complications*