Possible effects of chemical weapons used in Halabja martyr city at 16th march 1988 on developing oral and dental tissues

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Background: The development of oral and dental tissue is a complex process regulated by genes that are very
sensitive to disturbances in the environment. Although many studies were conducted in different parts of Iraq,
Halabja city is different; it had been subjected to chemical weapons in 1988, that if not produce death, it is
expected to produce developmental anomalies.
Methods and methods: A total of 457 persons were selected and divided to include 3 age groups, those born before
1971 (control group), those who were in utero during 1988 (group2), and those born in 1993 in Halabja city (group3).
Full extra-oral and intra-oral examination was carried out to diagnose any existing anomalies.
Results: Oro-dental anomalies were associated with history of parents’ exposure to chemical weapons (r = 0.3); no
sex difference was detected. Clinically missing teeth and retained deciduous teeth were the predominant
anomalies(11%) and correlated with history of parents’ exposure to chemical weapons predominantly in group2
(r=0.24). Enamel hypoplasia and local enamel opacities observed in 9.85%; macroglossia, fissured tongue, and
ankyloglossia were seen in 6.13%.
Conclusion: History of the exposure to chemical weapons effects teeth number, structure, and tongue anomalies.
Clinically missing teeth and retained deciduous teeth were the predominant anomalies.
Key words: Halabja city, chemical weapons, developmental anomalies. J Bagh Coll Dentistry 2010; 22(1):25-30.