Presence of developmental defects of enamel in cystic fibrosis patients.
OBJECTIVE
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease and is the frequently common lethal genetic pathology. The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine the presence of 3 different types of enamel defects: (a) demarcated opacities; (b) diffuse opacities; and (c) hypoplasia in the deciduous and permanent dentition of CF patients; and (2) compare with a control group.


METHODS
The case group was defined as 13 patients who were diagnosed with CF and enrolled in a multiprofessional project of the Catholic University of Brasília (CUB), Brasilia, Brazil. All CF subjects were compared with control subjects selected from patients at the CUB. Each CF subject was individually paired with a control subject of similar sex and age. A full-mouth examination was carried out for the developmental defects of enamel (DDE) index.


RESULTS
The most prevalent enamel defect in deciduous teeth was demarcated opacities present in 16% of the case group and in 7% of the control group. Although the defects were more prevalent in the case group, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.57). The frequency of demarcated opacities was more prevalent in permanent teeth of the case group: 39% compared to 11% in the control group. For the control group, diffuse opacities were the more prevalent defects: 17% compared to 15% in the case group. The case group had more enamel defects in permanent teeth compared to the control (P=0.0003).


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, enamel defects were frequently found in the permanent teeth of CF patients. Therefore, professionals who treat children should be alerted to promoting oral health among these patients.
Azevedo
Tatiana Degani Paes Leme
TD
School of Dentistry, Catholic University of Brasilia (CUB), Brasilia, Brazil. tdplazevedo@hotmail.com
Feijó
Gilvania Coutinho Silva
GC
Bezerra
Ana Cristina Barreto
AC
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology; D003744:Dental Enamel Hypoplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014070:Tooth / Q000473:pathology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology