Dental enamel hypoplasia in a group of celiac disease patients. Clinico-epidemiologic correlations

BACKGROUND: The aim of present study was to carry out a personal clinical-epidemiological research concerning a possible correlation between coeliac disease and enamel hypoplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients of Cam-pania, aged between 2 and 26 years old, with a diagnosis of coeliac disease (diagnosis in accordance with recent protocol ESPGAN), were subjected to a careful dental examination: at the same time a control-group formed by 105 healthy subjects, of the same province, age- and sex-matched with coeliac patients was examined. RESULTS: The finding of enamel hypoplasias was more significant in coeliac patients (11 cases with a percentage of 2.4%) than in controls (5 cases with a percentage of 4.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The percent rate, if on the one hand is lower than in Finnic studies, on the other hand fundamentally reflects the results of studies on the same topic carried out by other Italian groups. Furthermore also in this research the involvement of milk-teeth is observed as reported by other authors. This appears to confirm a clear association between coeliac disease and dental hard tissues alterations.