Oral Manifestations in Pediatric Patients with Coeliac Disease – A Review Article

BACKGROUND: Coeliac disease is a chronic enteropathy that remains a challenge for the clinician, due to its atypical manifestations and etiopathogenic complexity. OBJECTIVE: This article intends to describe the oral characteristics of Coeliac Disease in children in order to facilitate their management in the dental office. METHODS: A review of the literature was performed electronically in PubMed (PubMed Central, and MEDLINE) for articles published in English from 2000 to April of 2017. The article is also based on the authors' clinical experience with children with coeliac disease. The searched keywords were “coeliac disease “,”oral manifestations “, “dental enamel defects”, “recurrent aphthous stomatitis” and “oral aphthous ulcers”. RESULTS: There are some oral manifestations which are strictly related to coeliac disease: dental enamel defects, recurrent aphthous stomatitis, delayed tooth eruption, multiple caries, angular cheilitis, atrophic glossitis, dry mouth and burning tongue. CONCLUSION: The complete knowledge of the oral manifestations of coeliac disease can trigger an effective change in the quality of life of the patients with this disease.