Objective: Although psychotic symptoms are central to the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia, other neuropsychiatric syndromes as well as widespread anatomical and physiological abnormalities in the periphery are also common in the disorder. We decided to test the hypothesis that developmental abnormalities are present throughout the body by examining the oral cavity and in particular the teeth and dimensions of the palate of patients with schizophrenia.
Method: Dental stone models (casts) were made from impressions of the teeth and palate in schizophrenia (N=28) and control (N=25) subjects. Blind to group membership, the palate height, palate width, and other features of each subject's cast were assessed by a dentist.
Results: Patients with schizophrenia had significantly wider palates than control subjects; the palatal height did not differ between the two groups. The patients also had a high prevalence of several other anatomical abnormalities, few of which were present in the control subjects.
Conclusions: This first blind, quantitative assessment of the palate and teeth of patients with schizophrenia revealed a wide palate and an increased prevalence of developmental abnormalities in the teeth. These findings are consistent with the emerging concept that schizophrenia is not so much a psychotic disorder as a developmental disorder in which psychosis is present, and in which there are a number of other abnormalities in the brain and the periphery.