Dental Alterations in Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease; Dental complications; Dental caries; oral hygieneSickle cell disease (SCD) occurs due to a genetic mutation that results in amino acid substitution of valine to glutamic acid at position 6 of the adult B-globin chain.In the homozygous form, the substitution results in polymerization of hemoglobin on deoxygenation, leading to deformed dense red blood cells in patients with SCD.The predominant pathophysiological feature of SCD is vaso-occlusion, which leads to acute and chronic complications such as: painful crises; increased risk of infection; acute chest syndrome; and stroke.It may also cause severe painful episodes with dramatic hemolysis that can progress to involve multiple organs; including teeth, bones, lungs, liver, kidneys central nervous system, and cardiovascular system [1,2].In SCD patients, dental care is not considered a priority in comparison to other major complications such as recurrent severe vasoocclusive painful crises, chest infection, liver, renal and many other life threatening complications.In this article, we focused on dental complications in SCD patients, which require specialized dental care and awareness among dental practitioners.Three major alterations are going to be discussed in this article: dental, oral soft tissues, and maxillofacial complications (Figure 1) [3].