Regional odontodysplasia

Abstract

A case of regional odontodysplasia is reported. An unusual feature, only twice previously described in the world literature of fifty-four cases, was the presence of an apparently normal tooth within the group of affectd teeth. The implications of such a finding for the various theories relating to aetiology and pathogenesis are discussed.

Regional odontodysplasia: a review of the literature and report of a case

“…The main question is whether to remove the affected teeth or not, but we believe that this decision should be taken after the assessment of each individual case of RO. Some authors prefer extraction and replacement with removable, and later, fixed prostheses [3,5,10,13,44,45], while others have suggested keeping the unerupted teeth, and waiting for their calcification and hoped for eruption [1,3,13,36]. When the affected unerupted teeth are retained, some authors have suggested that a removable temporary prosthesis may be constructed over them during the period of skeletal growth in order to preserve the alveolar ridge [12,51].…”

“…When the affected teeth erupt, RO can be misdiagnosed as dental caries, and therefore, the teeth will be extracted without being submitted for histological examination [12]. Many cases of RO are also misdiagnosed as malformed teeth or odontomes [44,45].…”

“…Most dentists elect to extract the teeth involved immediately and later rehabilitate the patient with a temporary removable partial acrylic prosthesis because, even if they erupt, the teeth are defective and of undesirable appearance [3,10,13,44,45]. The longer the affected teeth are retained, the higher the chances of pathology developing.…”

Clinical Management of Regional Odontodysplasia

“…It has been argued, however, that a single act of damage would have to occur in utero and it is difficult to envisage such damage extending from the deciduous to the permanent dentition, with the occasional tooth in a quadrant remaining unaffected. 16 Activation of a latent virus in the odontogenic epithelium has also been suggested as a cause for the disorder, 7,17,18 but no virus particles have been identified.…”

“…19 A hereditary factor can be discounted because of the lack of evidence of such a history in cases reported to date. The possibility of maternal illness, drug therapy, or both as etiologic factors was suggested by cases reported in children whose mothers had pneumonia 14 or toxemia 16 during pregnancy or who took diuretics, 20 tranquilizers, or hormones during the first trimester.…”