Micrognathia

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The face

Micrognathia is a relative term describing the small size of the lower jaw.

In true micrognathia, the jaw is small enough to interfere with feeding of the infant. Infants with micrognathia may require special nipples in order to feed adequately.

Micrognathia may be the only abnormality in a child, and is often self-correcting during growth, especially at puberty when the jaw grows significantly. It may also be associated with certain inherited disorders and syndromes.

Micrognathia is one cause of abnormal alignment of the teeth. This can be seen by noticing the closure of the teeth. Often there will not be enough room for the teeth to grow and an orthodontist should be consulted when the adult teeth come in. At times, the child can outgrow micrognathia and it makes sense to wait until they are older.

• Pierre Robin syndrome
• Hallerman-Streiff syndrome
• Trisomy 13
• Trisomy 18
• X0 syndrome (Turner syndrome)
• Progeria
• Treacher-Collins syndrome
• Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome
• Russell-Silver syndrome
• Seckel syndrome
• Cri du chat syndrome
• Marfan syndrome

Review Date: 10/27/2005
Reviewed By: Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.