Dental Radiographic Alterations in Patients Undergoing Antineoplastic Therapy in Childhood: A Case Series

Abstract

Introduction: Antineoplastic therapy (AT) can cause unwanted effects, including dental alterations. However, many of the studies are case control or cohort studies, use a big number of patients, and may make it difficult to discuss the individual sequels. Objective: Therefore, this article aims to describe five cases of patients who had done AT in childhood or adolescence and discuss the radiography alterations. The side effects related were agenesis (five patients), root anomalies (two patients) and microdontia (two patients). This individual case analysis enabled to discuss chemotherapeutic agents and radiation parameters individually and the age of dental formation when the patient did the AT. Conclusion: In these cases, only when the therapy was perform in the age of teeth formation it was consider a direct effect of AT, so the cases presents root malformations, microdontia and premolars agenesis and third molars agenesis. On the other hand, another cases of root malformations, microdontia and third molars agenesis may be an indirect effect of AT or caused by other external factors, because the AT was not performed at the age of formation of these teeth.