I’ve heard that an uneven head is just a cosmetic defect. Is that true?
Unfortunately, many doctors unfairly belittle the problem of head deformities, disregarding numerous syndromes and providing information concerning only the aesthetic aspect of the problem. Parents often hear that “hair will cover everything”. In developed countries the situation is completely different: facts concerning facial skeleton deformities and adequate prevention are common knowledge.
There are more and more studiesand publications regarding the flat head syndrome every year. There is also more and more evidence that the alterations of the facial skeleton shape may bring on a number of other problems (particularly those related to the visible facial asymmetry):
– anatomical disorders – the size and shape of structures inside the skull change; problems with chewing, eating, and seeing may occur as well.
– movement and cognitive disorders – children are less active (Hutchison 2004, Fowler 2008) and retarded in some fields of development in comparison with their peers (Collett 2005, Hutchison 2009, Speltz 2010). The recent research has demonstrated that there are substantial differences in motor development between infants with plagiocephaly and healthy infants (Speltz et al., 2010).
– mental disorders due to abnormal appearance.