The effect of chronic methylphenidate administration on tooth maturation in a sample of Caucasian children

Over the past 3 decades, methylphenidate hydrochloride (MH; brand names are Concerta, Metadate, Ritalin) has been increasingly prescribed for children and adolescents diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Previous studies have demonstrated growth suppression with chronic MH administration in children and adolescents and an association of delayed dental maturation with delayed growth. It was hypothesized that, perhaps with MH use, there is a concurrent retardation in dental development. Although there has been an abundance of research done on its effect on skeletal development, no one has examined MH's possible effects on the oral cavity-particularly dental development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate dental maturation in children who had taken MH chronically.

Forty-two Caucasian children between the ages of 7 and 15.9 years who had taken MH for a minimum of 2 years were enrolled. Their dental development was compared to that of a contemporary age- and gender-matched control sample using the Demirjian method to assess dental age.

It was found that this study's population of children, who ingested an average dose of 30 mg of MH daily for a mean duration of 54 months, showed no delay in dental maturation.

It is concluded that, for these amounts of MH exposure, there is no effect on dental maturation.