Dental chromatic alteration caused by neonatal cholestasis

This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Cholestasis occurs due to reduced synthesis of bile acids or the deficient (intra or extra-hepatic) excretion of biliary components (cholesterol, phospholipids, bile salts, bilirubin and proteins) to the small intestine. Newborns, especially preterm-born children, have a predisposition to neonatal cholestasis because of hepatic immaturity. This condition can generate systemic problems, such as choluria, acholia, hypercholesterolemia and hyperbilirubinemia.(1,2) It can also change the structural composition or thickness of the mineralized dental tissues, enamel and dentine, leading to intrinsic chromatic changes due to hyperbilirubinemia (concentration of total bilirubin in blood serum higher