Delayed tooth eruption: association with severity of HIV infection.

PURPOSE HIV status is monitored by expression of clinical symptoms as well as CD4 lymphocyte counts. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between delayed dental eruption (DDE) and the progression of pediatric HIV infection to AIDS. METHODS A population of 70 perinatally HIV-infected children, aged 5 months to 13 years at their time of entry into the study, received dental examinations. Regression analysis between dental age and chronological age was performed. Subject CDC classification, adjusted for age, was used to determine an association between eruptive delay and severity of disease progression. RESULTS Data revealed no significant difference in timing of eruption based on severity of CD4 depletion alone (P = 0.09). However, clinical symptom status was strongly associated with DDE (P = 0.003). The relationship between symptoms and DDE persisted after controlling for CD4 depletion. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that there is a correlation between the progression from HIV infection to Pediatric AIDS and DDE and that this delay is most closely linked to severity of symptoms and not CD4 depletion.