2022 ICD-10-CM Code Q78.0
Osteogenesis imperfecta

Information for Patients

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder in which bones fracture (break) easily. Sometimes the fractures happen for no known reason. OI can also cause weak muscles, brittle teeth, a curved spine, and hearing loss. OI is caused by one of several genes that aren't working properly. When these genes don't work, it affects how you make collagen, a protein that helps make bones strong.

OI can range from mild to severe, and symptoms vary from person to person. A person may have just a few or as many as several hundred fractures in a lifetime.

There is no specific test for OI. Your doctor uses your medical and family history, physical exam, and imaging and lab tests to diagnose it. Your doctor may also test your collagen (from skin) or genes (from blood). There is no cure, but you can manage symptoms. Treatments include exercise, pain medicine, physical therapy, wheelchairs, braces, and surgery.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Dentinogenesis imperfecta is a disorder of tooth development. This condition causes the teeth to be discolored (most often a blue-gray or yellow-brown color) and translucent. Teeth are also weaker than normal, making them prone to rapid wear, breakage, and loss. These problems can affect both primary (baby) teeth and permanent teeth.

Researchers have described three types of dentinogenesis imperfecta with similar dental abnormalities. Type I occurs in people who have osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition in which bones are brittle and easily broken. Dentinogenesis imperfecta type II and type III usually occur in people without other inherited disorders. A few older individuals with type II have had progressive high-frequency hearing loss in addition to dental abnormalities, but it is not known whether this hearing loss is related to dentinogenesis imperfecta.

Some researchers believe that dentinogenesis imperfecta type II and type III, along with a condition called dentin dysplasia type II, are actually forms of a single disorder. The signs and symptoms of dentin dysplasia type II are very similar to those of dentinogenesis imperfecta. However, dentin dysplasia type II affects the primary teeth much more than the permanent teeth.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of genetic disorders that mainly affect the bones. The term "osteogenesis imperfecta" means imperfect bone formation. People with this condition have bones that break (fracture) easily, often from mild trauma or with no apparent cause. Multiple fractures are common, and in severe cases, can occur even before birth. Milder cases may involve only a few fractures over a person's lifetime.

There are at least 19 recognized forms of osteogenesis imperfecta, designated type I through type XIX. Several types are distinguished by their signs and symptoms, although their characteristic features overlap. Increasingly, genetic causes are used to define rarer forms of osteogenesis imperfecta. Type I (also known as classic non-deforming osteogenesis imperfecta with blue sclerae) is the mildest form of osteogenesis imperfecta. Type II (also known as perinatally lethal osteogenesis imperfecta) is the most severe. Other types of this condition, including types III (progressively deforming osteogenesis imperfecta) and IV (common variable osteogenesis imperfecta with normal sclerae), have signs and symptoms that fall somewhere between these two extremes.

The milder forms of osteogenesis imperfecta, including type I, are characterized by bone fractures during childhood and adolescence that often result from minor trauma, such as falling while learning to walk. Fractures occur less frequently in adulthood. People with mild forms of the condition typically have a blue or grey tint to the part of the eye that is usually white (the sclera), and about half develop hearing loss in adulthood. Unlike more severely affected individuals, people with type I are usually of normal or near normal height.

Other types of osteogenesis imperfecta are more severe, causing frequent bone fractures that are present at birth and result from little or no trauma. Additional features of these types can include blue sclerae of the eyes, short stature, curvature of the spine (scoliosis), joint deformities (contractures), hearing loss, respiratory problems, and a disorder of tooth development called dentinogenesis imperfecta. Mobility can be reduced in affected individuals, and some may use a walker or wheelchair. The most severe forms of osteogenesis imperfecta, particularly type II, can include an abnormally small, fragile rib cage and underdeveloped lungs. Infants with these abnormalities may have life-threatening problems with breathing and can die shortly after birth.

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