How to adapt orthodontic treatment for a patient with a general pathology? Review of the literature based on six scenarios that challenge the practitioner

Introduction: The democratization of access to orthodontic treatments and the development of orthodontics in adults lead more and more practitioners to take care of patients with various general pathologies. The aim of this literature review was to specify the recommendations governing orthodontic treatment in six specific situations: diabetes, patient at risk of endocarditis, haemophilia, osteopetrosis, epidermolysis bullosa and treatment with growth hormone.

Material and method: A review of the literature was carried out according to the PRISMA method from the PubMed database. The keywords used were, for diabetes: diabetic, diabetus mellitus, for infective endocarditis: endocarditis, for hemophilia : hemophilia, bleeding disorder, for the use of growth hormone: growth hormone, for epidermolysis bullosa: epidermolysis bullosa and for osteopetrosis: osteopetrosis, associated with the request « orthodontic » or « tooth movement ».

Results and conclusion: None of these situations constituted an absolute contraindication to orthodontic treatment. However, if surgical procedures with potential for complications were necessary, a compromise should then be discussed in order to provide the best benefit/risk balance for patients.