LAUSR

OBJECTIVE to investigate the impact of the severity of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus (MCZ) on tooth eruption and orofacial structures of children. DESIGN This case series study developed the research at the Mens Sana Rehabilitation Center, Arcoverde, Brazil. The study included 27 children diagnosed with MCZ. We performed the data collection in June 2018 through a questionnaire answered by the legal guardians, followed by a clinical examination of the children. The data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney and Fisher's Exact tests (p = 0.05). RESULTS The final sample was composed of 20 children. Of these, 13 (35.0%) had severe microcephaly, 5 (30.0%) had altered sequence of tooth eruption, 10 (50.0%) had delayed eruption, and the mean number of decayed teeth was 2.3. The most identified orofacial changes were teeth grinding habit (65.0%), difficult chewing (50.0%), and non-nutritive sucking (50.0%). Mann-Whitney test showed that the severity of microcephaly did not affect tooth eruption (p = 0.581). Fisher's exact test showed that the severity of microcephaly was not associated with orofacial changes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The severity of MCZ does not seem to influence changes in deciduous tooth eruption and the presence of orofacial anomalies.