[Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy]

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is clinically mainly characterized by progressive weakness of the facial, shoulder and upper arm muscles. It is an autosomal dominant heriditary disease, caused by a contraction of a repetitive DNA element at the end of the long arm of chromosome 4. This contraction causes the local relaxation of the chromatin structure and likely dysregulation of one or more genes. Oral health care providers can play a significant role in the early recognition, as the often asymmetric facial weakness is frequently the first symptom. Adequate oral health care is needed because of the facial weakness.