Abstract
A four year, one month old female was referred to the Pedodontic Department of H. N. G. U. to determine the possibility of improving the discoloration and amelogenesis imperfecta of her teeth.
According to her case history, she was born as a low birth weight infant and suffered from severe physiologic jaundice and infantile hepatitis after birth. The mother reported severe morning sickness, and used the hormone Luteal for prevention of abortion during pregnancy.
A medical examination revealed that the patient's growth was retarded remarkably for her age, The height and weight being 83.7 cm and 9965g respectively, and the bone age corresponding to that of a two-year-old.
The oral findings through dental examination revealed that all the deciduous teeth were discolored. Amelogenesis imperfecta was evident in the lower and upper canines, first primary molars, and second primary molars.
In the measurements of the teeth and the dental arch, the mesiodistal distance of the tooth crowns and the length of the dental arch were within normal limits but the width of the dental arch remarkably narrow. The overjet was 4.7 mm and the overbite was 3.65 mm.
An orthopantomogram showed that the growth of the tooth germs of the permanent teeth had been retarded by one year but number of permanent teeth was normal.
According to X-ray cephalometric analysis, labio-inclination of the upper central incisors was evident in the denture pattern. On the other hand, concerning the skeletal pattern, the amount of the cranial growth had a tendency to be very small on the whole.
The authors recognize that the patient had been born with a low birth weight and had suffered from infantile hepatitis during infancy. In this case, it is interesting to consider a possible relationship between fetal diseases and the diseased of newborn infants as well as dental developmental abnormalities such as teeth discoloration and amelogenesis imperfecta.
