<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
>From the CCA's "Celiac News" dated Spring '94. For subscription info contact:
 
 Canadian Celiac Association
 6519B Mississauga Road
 Mississauga, Ontario L5N 1A6
 
 (905) 567-7195  (800-363-7296 in Canada)
 
 
Excerpts from "Update" Nov. 93,
 
a publication of the College of Dental Surgeons of Britsh Columbia.
Reprinted with permission.
 
Children with celiac disease often reveal pathognomonic enamel defects
systematically and chronologically in all four quadrants. Dentists can play
an important role in screening patients possibly suffering from celiac disease.
 
Patients with symmetrical enamel hypoplasia in permanent teeth should be
advised to seek serologic screening using sensitive and/or invasive tests
for evidence of small bowel mucous villous atrophy.
 
Celiac Disease as Classified by Enamel Defects are:
 
Grade 0: No defect.
 
Grade I: Defect in colour of enamel only; single or multiple cream, yellow
or brown opacities with clearly defined or diffused margins; all or part of
the enamel surface is without a natural glaze.
 
Grade II: Minor structural defects; rough enamel surface, horizontal grooves
or shallow pits, light opacities and/or discoloration may be found; or part
of the enamel surface is without a natural glaze.
 
Grade III: Evident structural defects; all or part of the enamel surface is
rough with deep horizontal grooves of varying width; may have large vertical
pits; large opacities of strong and varying discoloration.
 
Grade IV: Severe structural defects; the shape of the tooth may be abnormal
with cusp tips sharply pointed and/or the incisal edges unevenly thinned and
roughened; margins of the lesions are well defined and strongly discoloured.