[Dental delay and microdontia in children with somatotropin hormone deficiency]

The clinical effects of growth hormone deficiency on dental development were studied in 27 young people aged 3.5-17.5 years, suffering from pituitary dwarfism. They presented with either a late selective eruption of premolars whose roots appeared normal or partial eruption of the whole permanent dentition. Premolar crowns were statistically significantly smaller while the other teeth were of normal size. The hormonal deficiency produced a decrease in the level of circulating growth factors and especially of EGF which may explain the anomalies of eruption and dental morphogenesis.