Sickle cell disease and pulpal necrosis: a review of the literature for the primary care dentist.

A case of difficult diagnosis of a patient with sickle cell disease and tooth pain fuelled a literature review by a primary care general dental practitioner. A literature search was conducted to review the relationship between sickle cell disease and pulpal necrosis. The results indicated statistically significant associations of sickle cell disease and tooth pain without any carious or traumatic pathology. It is important for the primary care dentist to be aware of the relationship between sickle cell disease and pulpal necrosis to prevent misdiagnosis and consequently mistreatment.