A review of foetal alcohol syndrome and the role of the oral health care worker.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) consists of multi-system abnormalities and is caused by the excessive intake of alcohol during pregnancy. The teratogenic effect of alcohol on humans has now been established beyond reasonable doubt and FAS is one of the most important human teratogenic conditions known today. Many investigators have catalogued, quantified and refined these hallmarks of FAS over the years and have established that the most consistent consequences of heavy maternal drinking during pregnancy are prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency, and brain and craniofacial abnormalities. Many practitioners are unable to recognise the often subtle features associated with FAS and fail to diagnose it. The purpose of this article is to review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation and discuss the relevance of FAS to clinical dental practice.