Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Narrow mouth

Small mouth

HP:0000160

What it means

Distance between the commissures of the mouth more than 2 SD below the mean. Alternatively, an apparently decreased width of the oral aperture (subjective).

The width of the mouth varies with facial movement and must be assessed when the subject has a relaxed (neutral) face. This term replaces microstomia, small oral aperture, and small mouth because the reduced opening of the mouth is secondary to reduced width.

Rare diseases that can present with this150

Very common80–99%

41

Common30–79%

38

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions, and Orphanet separately records 1 disease where this sign is specifically absent. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Microstomia · Small oral aperture

Narrow mouth

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This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.