Dental Management of Hypohydrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia: A Case Report

Ectodermal dysplasia is a genetic rare disease, consisting of a group of abnormalities which are the results of the abnormal development of two or more embryonic ectoderm derivatives, such as the skin, hair, nail, sweat gland, tooth, and other organs. Systemic features of ectodermal dysplasia include sparse hair (hypotrichosis), dry and hypopigmented skin, and malfunction of sweat glands that could cause hyperthermia. Intraoral symptoms of ectodermal dysplasia are abnormalities in tooth number (hypodontia or oligodontia of primary and permanent dentitions) and morphology (conical or peg tooth). Reestablishment of dental esthetics in a growing child with ectodermal dysplasia is crucial to amend psychosocial, esthetic, and functional problems. In this case report, an 8-year-old boy with esthetic and functional complaints was treated by a multidisciplinary approach. His parents declared no systemic diseases. Chief compliant of the patient was the problem in the eruption of the anterior teeth and dental abcess. The patient was reported to have major problems in terms of esthetics and social communications because of the missing teeth. The aim of this case report was to display a simple and cost-benefit method to reproduce an agreeable smile in an 8-year-old male patient with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. After the dental management in this case, the esthetics, phonetics, and chewing functions were rectified significantly. In addition, the parents reported an increased level of self-esteem in their child.