Modern Journal Of Medicine And Biology

Introduction: Down syndrome people have special health care needs due to physical, medical, developmental, or cognitive conditions and require special considerations when receiving dental treatment. As a child or an adult, people with Down syndrome frequently visit a dental clinic because of the oro-dental, and craniofacial abnormalities they present. Published medical literature reported that tooth agenesis occurs more often in people with Down syndrome than in the general population. The study aims to describe and compare the prevalence of tooth agenesis, the number of missing teeth, and the type of teeth affected in a sample of 58 people confirmed with Down syndrome by cytogenetic testing.

Material and Methods: A total of 58 persons with Down syndrome needed dental care and treatment. None had previous orthodontic treatment. The dental findings were described by performing the complete extra- and intra-oral clinical examinations at Profiladent Clinic in Bucharest. For the assessment of tooth agenesis, a radiographic examination has been performed as well. All patients were able to cooperate for radiographic exams or panoramic radiographs, and no sedation was required. To select participants, we analysed medical records and cytogenetic profiles. 

Results: The prevalence of tooth agenesis among Down syndrome participants is 56.9%. Most affected individuals suffer only a mild form of tooth agenesis involving a small number of missing teeth (one or two). Some tooth types were more often missing than other ones. Excluding the third molar, upper lateral incisor and lower second premolars were most commonly missing teeth. Bilateral agenesis of upper lateral incisors occurred more often. There was no difference between the left and right sides of the jaw. Tooth agenesis occurred in different phenotypic patterns. Additional dental anomalies included microdontia, delays in development, delayed eruption, or taurodontism.

Conclusion: Down syndrome has tooth agenesis as one of its features. The severity of tooth agenesis varied from person to person. 

Keywords: Tooth Agenesis; Down’s Syndrome; Trisomy 21