Abstract

DE FARIA, Fernanda Gumes; LAURIA, Roberta Andrade  and  BITTENCOURT, Marcos Alan Vieira. Dental and skeletal characteristics of patients with Down Syndrome. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2013, vol.61, n.1, pp. 121-126. ISSN 1981-8637.

Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is a very common genetic alteration, which has very apparent clinical, dental and facial characteristics and a wide range of systemic manifestations. These patients have their physical development delayed and exhibit changes in normal bone growth pattern. One method to perform this analysis is by associating skeletal and chronological ages through the evaluation of ossification centers in hand and wrist radiographs. In general, a poor development of the midface occurs, contributing to a high rate of malocclusion. However, there are some individual variations. This article, therefore, aimed to conduct a brief review of some of the features of Down syndrome that play an important role in establishing correct clinical diagnosis. We also sought to make a comparative analysis of the skeletal and dental patterns of two patients with Down syndrome through clinical evaluation and using panoramic and hand and wrist radiographs. It was found that, while younger patients (12 years 3 months) displayed bone and skeletal growth retardation, chronologically older subjects (14 years) had their development accelerated.

Keywords : Bone development.; Down syndrome.; Malocclusion..