Caries Experience in Individuals with Moebius Syndrome

Moebius syndrome (MS) is a rare congenital facial diplegia characterized by partial or complete sixth and seventh cranial nerve palsy. Orofacial manifestations include micrognathia, increased overbite, high arched palate, morphological changes in the tongue, and dental crowding. Case reports and small case series have shown a high prevalence of caries in MS patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of caries between individuals with Moebius syndrome and controls using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS).

A total of 90 participants were divided into two groups: (1) the study group, comprising 34 individuals with MS; and (2) the control group, comprising 56 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects without MS. All individuals were evaluated for the presence of caries using the ICDAS. For statistical analysis, different ICDAS scores were used as cutoff points.

The number of carious lesions in the MS group was higher only for early-stage caries (i.e., ICDAS scores of 1 and 2; 27.0±23.0 versus 16.0±14.1 and 26.3±23.2 versus 15.2±13.6, respectively).

Moebius syndrome patients have more early carious lesions than controls without the syndrome.