American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics : official publication of the American Association of Orthodontists, its constituent societies, and the American Board of Orthodontics
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Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop · Feb 1988
Comparative StudyDental and occlusal characteristics of children with neuromuscular disease.
Seventy-nine pediatric patients with neuromuscular diseases were examined for dental and occlusal characteristics. Fifty-six patients suffered from primary muscle disease (myopathies) including 43 with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. The neuromuscular disorders in 19 patients were of neuropathic origin, while four were caused by a fault in the neuromuscular junction. ⋯ The Duchenne patients exhibited a statistically significant delay in dental emergence (1.06 years), unlike the other myopathies (0.31 years) and the neurogenic disorders groups (-0.03 years). This study emphasizes the influence of muscular environment on dental development in general. The dentition may be more affected in muscular dystrophies stemming from degenerative or inflammatory muscle damage than in those originating from nerve malfunction or disorder of the neuromuscular junction.