Chronology of the First Deciduous Tooth Eruption in Brazilian Children with Microcephaly Associated with Zika Virus: A Longitudinal Study

Ypc Aguiar,Crb Alencar,Salb Cavalcanti,Aso Melo,Al Cavalcanti,Afc Cavalcanti

doi:10.4034/pboci.2018.181.16

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the chronology of first deciduous tooth eruption in children with microcephaly associated with presumed or confirmed Zika virus. Methods: A longitudinal study was developed with 74 children of both sexes. Data on prematurity, gestational age (in weeks), anthropometric characteristics at birth [length (cm), weight (g) and cephalic perimeter (cm)] and dental eruption (chronological age and corrected age for prematurity in months) were collected and presented through descriptive statistics. Results: The majority of children were female (54.1%) and 14.9% were born premature. The mean gestational age was 38.2 (± 1.9) weeks, while length, weight and cephalic perimeter at birth were 45.6 (± 3.1) cm, 2750 (± 526.6) and 30 (± 2.3) cm, respectively. The eruption of the first tooth occurred on average at 12.3 (± 3.0) months of chronological age and at 11.1 (± 2.3) months of corrected age. The first erupted teeth were the lower deciduous central incisors (82.4%). The mean age for dental eruption in males was 12.5 months (± 3.0) and in females 12.0 months (± 3.1) among full-term children. For premature infants, the mean corrected age of dental eruption was 11.5 months (± 3.4) for boys and 11 months (± 1.7) for girls. Conclusion: In this group of children with microcephaly, the first tooth to erupt was the lower central incisor around the first year of life. Girls had lower average eruption time when compared to boys in both chronological age and age corrected for prematurity.

Highlights

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus of the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus [1], whose main form of transmission is by pricking from an infected mosquito of the genus Aedes [2]
The majority of cases under monitoring of changes in growth and development related to Zika virus infection and other infectious etiologies are concentrated in the northeastern region of the country, with Paraíba being the third State of the Federation with the highest number of cases of children with microcephaly [10]
Considering the absence of similar studies on the deciduous eruption in infants with microcephaly, the present study aimed to describe the chronology of the first deciduous tooth eruption in Brazilian children with microcephaly associated with Zika virus

Summary

Introduction

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus of the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus [1], whose main form of transmission is by pricking from an infected mosquito of the genus Aedes [2]. In Brazil, ZIKV was declared a Public Health Emergency after researchers reported an unexpected increase in the diagnosis of fetal and pediatric microcephaly [4,5,6,7]. Congenital microcephaly has been a hallmark of intrauterine infection by the Zika virus [8], this condition is considered a sign of extensive encephalopathic changes [9]. The absence of microcephaly at birth does not exclude congenital infection by Zika virus [8]. The majority of cases under monitoring of changes in growth and development related to Zika virus infection and other infectious etiologies are concentrated in the northeastern region of the country, with Paraíba being the third State of the Federation with the highest number of cases of children with microcephaly [10]. For being a recent condition, the orofacial changes that may occur in these children [11], including the pattern of tooth eruption, which is related to the general growth and metabolic function of the individual, are still unknown [12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion