Dental abnormalities after pediatric bone marrow transplantation

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Hematology
• Oncology

Background:

• Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a critical treatment for pediatric cancers and other diseases.
• Dental development can be affected by the conditioning regimens and systemic effects of BMT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the types and frequencies of altered dental development in pediatric patients post-BMT.
• To identify specific dental abnormalities that may be associated with BMT.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records and panoramic radiographs of 99 pediatric patients who underwent BMT.
• Analysis of pre-BMT and post-BMT dental records for abnormalities including microdontia, hypodontia, taurodontia, root stunting, caries, enamel pearls, and pulpal calcification.

Main Results:

• Root stunting in permanent teeth was significantly increased post-BMT (P<0.001).
• No significant changes were observed in the frequencies of other dental abnormalities after BMT.
• Dental abnormalities are common in childhood BMT survivors.

Conclusions:

• While dental abnormalities are prevalent in pediatric BMT survivors, only root stunting showed a significant increase and appeared to progress after BMT.
• These findings highlight the importance of long-term dental monitoring for pediatric BMT patients.