Regional odontodysplasia: a review of the literature and report of four cases

Abstract

Regional odontodysplasia (RO) is a rare dental anomaly involving both dentitions, mostly teeth of one quadrant. The characteristic findings are discolored soft teeth accompanied by gingivitis, swelling or abscess. Enamel and dentin are hypomineralised and hypoplastic, so that the 'ghost teeth' appear shadowy in radiographs with wide pulp chambers. The etiology is unknown. Epidemiological data is rare; 138 cases of RO have been published to date and reports on ultrastructure are few. An analysis of published cases of RO in the international literature is presented. The sex ratio of females to males was 1.7:1. The age at the time of diagnosis ranged between 4 and 23 years. The maxilla was more often affected (maxilla to mandible ratio 1.6:1). In 67 patients the deciduous and permanent dentitions were affected (47.1%). In 129 cases, affected teeth lay side by side. Missing tooth development was observed in 10.7%. Failure of tooth eruption of RO teeth occurred in 39.7%. In addition, four cases with RO which were collected over a period of more than 25 years are presented. Ultrastructural findings of one specimen are demonstrated.

Root malformation associated with a cervical mineralized diaphragm – a distinct form of tooth abnormality?

“…In contrast to the situation in regional odontodysplasia, 6,7 the crowns of the affected teeth are normal, and unlike in dentin dysplasia type I, 3,4,13 the pulp cavities are not obliterated. The newly observed malformation could also be mistaken for a consequence of severe root resorption.…”

“…Primary disruption of radicular development is associated with dentin dysplasia type I [3][4][5] and regional odontodysplasia. 6,7 In these conditions, the root dysplasia is generalized or affects a continuous section of a dental arch. Premature arrest of radicular development results from local events such as traumas, infections, or radiation therapy, systemic influences like chemotherapy, [8][9][10] and sometimes without any apparent reason.…”

Clinical, Radiographical and Histological Evaluation of an Unusual Regional Odontodysplasia Case

“…Hen ce, the enamel and den tin we re less ra di o-opa qu e than the other pri mary te eth and the de mar ca ti on bet we en ena mel and den ti ne was not dis tinct. 6,7,20 The ro ot was short but the ro ot ca nal was not en lar ged as repor ted in so me ca ses in the li te ra tu re. 20 A cleft exten ding from the in ci sal ed ge down to the pulp was vi sib le even ra di og rap hi cally, and it was also de tected his to lo gi cally.…”

“…7,13,14 Con trary to the pre vi o us ca ses, the pre sent ca se has un com mon fin dings sin ce the in vol ved to oth was a sing le primary man di bu lar to oth in a ma le pa ti ent. Ho wever, va ri a ti ons of the abno mality inc lu ding in volve ment of ma le pa ti ents, af fec ted bi la te ral man dibu lar te eth and skip ping of the ad ja cent te eth ha ve be en shown in so me ca ses.…”

“…with an in ci den ce hig her in fe ma les. 7 Cli ni cally dela yed, fa i led or par ti al erup ti on of dis co lo red and aty pi cally sha ped te eth are en co unte red. 2,[8][9][10] Ra diog rap hi cally, the af fec ted te eth ap pe ar as "ghost teet h" sin ce the ra di o pa city and thick ness of ena mel and den tin are re du ced and pulp cham ber is en larged.…”