Long-term complications in the dental development of pediatric patients after oncological treatment: A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction and aim of the study: Childhood cancer is a rare disease that affects children and adolescents under 19 years of age and is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Increased survival has led to the emergence of sequelae resulting from cancer treatment. The objective of this review was to describe the complications in dental development in this group of individuals after receiving cancer treatment. Methodology: An electronic database search and manual review were conducted to identify relevant studies. Cohort, cross-sectional, and case-control studies published in the last 20 years in English, Spanish, and Portuguese were included. The search strategy combined MeSH terms and free text. According to the PICO strategy, articles were selected that evaluated patients aged 0–19 years with childhood cancer treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, hematopoietic cell transplantation, and combination therapies. The outcome evaluated was the presence of long-term manifestations in dental development after cancer treatment. Results: Out of 116 studies, 21 were selected. The methodological designs were equitable (33.3% each). Leukemia was the most common childhood cancer (40.3%). Most patients received chemotherapy alone (71.6%), and the main dental abnormalities were root malformations (26.1%), enamel hypoplasia (24.8%), microdontia (24.6%), and tooth agenesis (17.8%).  Conclusion: Antineoplastic therapies in pediatric oncology patients are associated with dental abnormalities. Integrating the dentist into the interdisciplinary team is key to preventing, diagnosing, and treating these manifestations.