Deciduous teeth in tuberous sclerosis

Shed deciduous teeth from patients with tuberous sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, phenylketonuria and healthy persons were examined with a surface microscope. We found enamel pits in all 87 deciduous teeth from the 20 patients with tuberous sclerosis, but in none of the 253 deciduous teeth from 142 controls constituting patients with cerebral palsy, phenylketonuria and Down syndrome as well as healthy persons. Enamel pits always occurred in the facial surface of the central incisor, lateral incisor and canine, while the number of enamel pits in the other surfaces of the deciduous teeth varied from none to nine. Ground sections examined microscopically revealed an undisturbed pattern of incremental lines (Retzius striae) surrounding the pits. In five dental sacs from patients with tuberous sclerosis, microscopic examination showed that the inner surface of the operculum was remarkably more irregular than in control patients.