CRANIOFACIAL GROWTH AND DENTAL MATURATION IN SHORT CHILDREN BORN SMALL-FOR-GESTATIONAL-AGE - EFFECT OF GROWTH-HORMONE TREATMENT - OWN OBSERVATIONS AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Short children born small for gestational age (SGA) may be candidates for treatment with growth hormone (GH). We examined craniofacial growt h and dental maturation in a cohort of short SGA children. The general growth failure of these children is reflected to a differential exten t within the craniofacial complex. As a group, these children have a s mall retrognathic face with a relatively increased lower anterior face height; in contrast to skeletal maturation, dental age is not delayed . GH treatment in short prepubertal SGA children leads to craniofacial catch-up growth, which is particularly pronounced in regions where in terstitial cartilage is involved, the result being that the facial pro file becomes less convex; dental maturation does not appear to be infl uenced by GH treatment. In conclusion, in short SGA children, GH treat ment does not only result in an increase of body stature but also in a trend towards normalization of craniofacial growth and this without n otable advancement of dental maturation.