Side-effects to antibiotics in cystic fibrosis: Dental changes in relation to antibiotic administration

Abstract

Dental examinations were carried out on 63 children suffering from cystic fibrosis. 36.5% of the children had appreciably discoloured teeth. No firm relation could be established between the type of tetracycline administered and the degree of discoloration, the radiographic severity of the cystic fibrosis, or the severity of respiratory infection. Neither could a relation be demonstrated between the total dosage and the severity of tooth discoloration, nor the dosage estimated as being taken during tooth formation. The incisor teeth of children who had received tetracycline showed considerably more characteristic fluorescence under ultraviolet light than those of children who had received other forms of the drug. The present report substantiates the findings of other workers, that children with cystic fibrosis, who are receiving tetracycline therapy, are liable to have discoloured teeth. However, the relatively small number of children examined means that many questions remain unanswered, particularly the effect of the various tetracyclines on the type of discoloration produced and at what stage of tooth development the tetracyclines produce discoloration. More objective assessments of the effect of tetracycline therapy on the teeth will have to be made before these questions can be answered. It is apparent that children receiving large doses of tetracycline are liable to have disfiguring staining of the teeth and, if alternative antibiotics are available which do not belong to the tetracycline family, these should be employed instead.