Widely spaced teeth
Page most recently updated 7 September 2026
This page focuses on widely spaced teeth as a morphologic feature of conditions that may also be associated with psychiatric manifestations, such as psychosis, mania, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, OCD, and self-injurious behaviours. The page begins with a clinical definition of widely spaced teeth based on the standardized Elements of Morphology terminology, together with visual examples from the same source. This is followed by a list of conditions in which widely spaced teeth have been described in association with psychiatric manifestations.
Of note, to optimize clinical utility, the list does not include conditions associated with intellectual disability in the absence of other psychiatric features.
Each condition listed below is linked to a dedicated page within this resource. These pages describe the psychiatric manifestations associated with each condition, as well as other morphologic and broader clinical features, allowing the differential diagnosis to be considered from multiple perspectives.
Widely spaced teeth
Image credit: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Elements of Morphology.
Definition
Subjective: Increased spaces (diastemata) between most of the teeth in the same dental arch.
Note: Wide spacing can be secondary to increased room created by an unusually large dental arch, microdontia or mixed primary and secondary dentition. It should be carefully noted that slight spacing between the primary teeth is normal, so experience in evaluation is important in determining this feature. This descriptor must be distinguished from Diastema (a space between two adjacent teeth).
Synonyms: Multiple Diastemata.
Conditions with potential psychiatric associations
Selected references and further reading — Morphologic lens
Allanson JE, Biesecker LG, Carey JC, Hennekam RCM. Elements of morphology: introduction. Am J Med Genet A. 2009;149A(1):2-5.
Hennekam RCM, Biesecker LG, Allanson JE, Hall JG, Opitz JM, Temple IK, Carey JC; Elements of Morphology Consortium. Elements of morphology: general terms for congenital anomalies. Am J Med Genet A. 2013;161A(11):2726-2733.
Jones KL, Jones MC, del Campo M. Smith's recognizable patterns of human malformation. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.
Reardon W. The bedside dysmorphologist: a guide to identifying and assessing congenital malformations. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2016.