Prevalence of Dental Enamel Defects, Aphthous-Like Ulcers and Other Oral Manifestations in Celiac Children and Adolescents: A Comparative Study.

Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease with typical, atypical and asymptomatic forms, in which many oral manifestations have been recognized. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of oral manifestations as well as explore if oral examination could be used as a first diagnostic screening tool for atypical or asymptomatic forms. Study Design: 45 CD patients, between 2 and 18 years (mean age 10.3) and 45 healthy subjects, age and gender-matched, were examined for hard and soft tissue lesions such as dental enamel defects (DED), dental caries, aphthous-like ulcers (ALU), atrophic glossitis, geographic tongue, median rhomboid glossitis. Results: Statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed for the prevalence of DED (in 64,4% CD and 24,46% control patients, p=0.001), their location in the teeth (incisal: p=0.0001, middle: p=0.002, cervical: p=0.007), as well as for the prevalence of ALU (in 40% CD as opposed to 4,44% control patients, p=0.001). Conclusion: The presence of DED and ALU could be used as a sign of alert for possible atypical and asymptomatic forms of CD.

HLA-DQB1*05 association with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in children of Northern Greek origin.

In order to investigate HLA-DRB1 and HLADQB1 gene polymorphisms in Northern Greek pediatric population with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), we analyzed the distribution of these alleles in 17 patients and in 181 healthy subjects using polymerase chain reaction. No significant association was detected between HT and alleles analyzed. However, HLA-DQB1*05 was significantly increased in patients with age of diagnosis > 10 years (87.5%) compared to those with age of diagnosis