Infantile malignant osteopetrosis: report of 2 cases with osteomyelitis of the jaws.

Infantile malignant osteopetrosis (IMO) is an uncommon autosomal recessive disease characterized by dense, brittle, sclerotic, radiopaque bones, which generally results in neurological and hematological abnormalities. In general, IMO is fatal, as patients fail to grow and expire due to complications of the disease such as severe chronic anemia, bleeding, and/or infections. In children with IMO, the development of the dentition is seriously disturbed. Patients with infantile osteopetrosis have a variety of signs and symptoms, including osteomyelitis of the jaws, which frequently and generally resists treatment. Infections may eventually become lethal; hence, jaw infection control is an important aspect of the disease for dentists and oral surgeons to consider. The purpose of this case report was to present 2 rare cases of pediatric patients (one of them died due to respiratory failure at 10 years old) diagnosed with osteopetrosis complicated by osteomyelitis of the jaw.