Radiographic manifestations in teeth and jaws in chronic kidney insufficiency

: Forty-five patients affected with chronic renal failure (29 men and 16 women; mean age: 47.8 years), treated with hemodialysis for 4 to 245 months (mean: 66.9 months) were examined with panoramic and skeletal radiographs-the latter of the skull, hands, shoulders and clavicles, pelvis and spine. The control group (45 subjects with no renal diseases) was examined only with panoramic radiography. Dental and skeletal radio-graphs were given an 0-6 score and then compared to assess a possible relationship between skeletal and dental changes at radiography. Twenty-six dialysis patients (57.7%) had radiographic abnormalities in the maxillary bones-i.e., osteoporosis (100% of patients), focal osteosclerosis adjacent to the roots (11.5%), lamina dura reduction or loss (26.9%), calcifications of soft tissues or salivary glands (15.3%) and brown tumors (7.6%). In the teeth of dialysis patients, the dental pulp chamber was narrowed in 11.1% and hypercementosis of the roots was observed in 4.5%. Radiographic abnormalities in the hand, shoulder and pelvis were depicted in 51.1% of dialysis patients-in 86.9% of them with maxillary lesions. In the control group, 15.5% had mandibular bone lesions-i.e., osteopenia, cortex reduction at the mandibular angles and cyst-like lesions -but the evidence of caries and periodontal disease did not differ from that in the dialysis group. The diagnosis and follow-up of dialysis patients are currently made with serum biochemistry, radiography and histology. The purpose of skeletal radiology is to monitor the progression or regression of musculoskeletal abnormalities. Panoramic radiography might be useful in monitoring renal osteodystrophy, especially to assess the response to therapy-i.e., parathyroidectomy, calcium or vitamin-D therapy and renal transplant.