Pediatric Dentistry · patient case question
What do you do?
Patient case: Child with complete anodontia and dry skin
Scenario: A patient presents with COMPLETE ANODONTIA, DRY SKIN, PERIORAL WRINKLES, and INTOLERANCE TO HIGH TEMPERATURES. There is NO family history of the condition in either parent or any other family member.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Refer to a pediatric dentist and a multidisciplinary team
- A. Implants are generally deferred until skeletal growth is complete because an osseointegrated implant behaves like an ankylosed tooth and will become infrapositioned as the jaws grow. The anterior mandible is the one region sometimes considered earlier in carefully selected cases.
- B. Deferring all treatment neglects function, nutrition, speech development and the psychosocial impact of anodontia in childhood.
- C. Definitive fixed prostheses are inappropriate in a growing child for the same reason.
- D. Correct. Management is MULTIDISCIPLINARY and staged — pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, and often a geneticist and dermatologist. Children are typically restored with removable overdentures beginning around age 3-5 to support function, speech, appearance and psychosocial development, and these are remade as the child grows.
Practice Pediatric Dentistry questions Pediatric Dentistry study notes