Navigating into the Dental Management of a Child with Morphea: A Case Report

Abstract

Morphea, a morphological variant of Localised Scleroderma (LoS) that typically occurs in children, is an inflammatory disease of connective tissue leading to skin and underlying tissue sclerosis due to increased deposition of collagen. The aetiology of morphea is quite elusive. Morphea, along with other regions also affects oral and perioral tissues; the most common affected implication being facial skin and tongue rigidity. The author reports a case of a 10-year-old female who reported to the Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry for retained maxillary anterior deciduous teeth. The patient also presented with scarring on her face, chest, and arms. Her lips were thin, rigid and partially fixed producing microstomia with decreased mouth opening. Clinical examination, blood tests, Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography/High-Resolution Computed Tomography (CECT/ HRCT) of thorax, Antinuclear Antibody (ANA) test, Antineutrophilic Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA) Test, Anti-dsDNA Test, systemic sclerosis/myositis profile, and histopathological evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of morphea. The management of morphea is multidisciplinary. Hence, the role of a paediatric dental surgeon in recognising the development of disease progression in a patient and avoiding any oral complications is very important.

Keywords

• localised
• paediatric dentistry
• scleroderma