An assessment of adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy on the development of HIV positive children by observation of dental mineralization chronology

Abstract

The difference between dental age (DA) and chronological age (CA) indicates an advance or delay in comparison with the normal standard. Considering that DA has a very close correlation with CA in a developing child, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the effects of antiretroviral therapy on the development of HIV positive children, by observing the timing of dental mineralization. A retrospective examination was made of the medical records and dental panoramic radiographs of 50 HIV-positive pediatric patients, aged 37-168 months of age. Through these radiographs, their DA was estimated and compared with their CA. The mean DA was significantly lower than the mean CA in the entire studied sample (P < 0.01). There was a statistical difference between children who received antiretroviral drugs and those who used no drugs (P = 0.02), i.e. the non-treated individuals presented practically no difference between CA and DA, while the treated patients showed a difference of 10.67 months. We conclude that the DA of HIV infected children was delayed when compared to the CA, and there was a positive association between the use of antiretroviral therapy and a delay in the chronology of dental mineralization in the sample.