Dental and Skeletal Manifestation of Sickle-Cell Anaemia and Thalassemia in Saudi Arabia; A Systematic Review

Abstract

Patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SDC) suffer from many systematic manifestations such as muscular imbalance, absence of labial scaling, and changes in the osseous skull base. Thalassemia patients are characterized by many systematic manifestations such as skeletal deformities. The study aimed to systematically assess the literature about the relationship between dental and skeletal manifestations of SCD and Thalassemia among Saudi subjects. Following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews (PRISMA), 5 databases were searched for related articles. Data were collected following certain keywords. Studies in humans, English language, from 2000 to 2020, among growers, were included. 145 articles were selected. Duplicates were excluded leading to 138 articles. Upon screening titles and abstracts, 80 articles were selected. 55 articles were chosen and only 3 high-level evidence papers met the criteria for the qualitative synthesis. Thalassemia and SCD patients had a greater prevalence of severe malocclusion and they require an earlier orthodontic intervention compared to norm-occlusive subjects. The commonly found dental manifestations among Thalassemia and SCD are Class II skeletal malocclusion, with a maxillary protrusion, constricted arches, and incisal crowding.