Background: Williams Beuren syndrome (WBS) is an unusual hereditary connective tissue disease caused by a microdeletion at position 7q11-23 and a haploinsufficiency at the elastin gene. The most frequent specific features are elf-like face, alteration of cognitive functions and cardiovascular diseases including isolated supravalvular aortic stenosis. A number of clinical findings have been reported, but none of the studies evaluating this syndrome consider the oral cavity. It is equally surprising that the gingival tissue, which carries a perfectly structured elastic fibre network, has not yet been investigated. It is important to verify whether subjects affected by WBS are more susceptible to periodontal disease than healthy subjects who are not that much affected, for periodontal disease may have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system.
Methods: In an attempt to address this issue, the oral manifestations of 8 patients (ages from 5 to 12 years) with WBS have been investigated: dental examination, periodontal examination (gingival phenotype, plaque control record, gingival index, bone quality).
Results: All patients had oral parafunction, tooth number abnormalities and malocclusions. Average gingival height and width were greater than normal. Plaque index was always very high except for one patient, but the gingival inflammation was not linked to the quantity of clinical plaque index. There was no obvious loss of attachment.
Conclusion: As with collagen, elastin is a structural macromolecule of the gingiva. These components play an important role in gingival function and in the resistance of the periodontium to daily aggressions. Unlike genetic diseases characterized by impairment of collagen macrofibrils, it is suggested that the hemizygous gene encoding elastin does not result in periodontal disease. In addition there is an existence of a possible concordance between the elastin gene haploinsufficiency and the periodontal phenotype. There might be some adaptive process to this deficiency.