Many diseases affect the jawbone, or mandible. According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, a person's jaw is composed of an upper, unmovable part called the maxilla and a lower, movable part called the mandible, and diseases of the jawbone can cause significant pain or discomfort. Along with pain or discomfort, some diseases affecting the jawbone can cause structural changes in the face.
Gigantism
Gigantism is a rare disease that can affect the jawbone. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, gigantism, also known as giantism, is characterized by abnormally large growth---including overgrowth of the mandible---due to an increased production of growth hormone before a person's bone growth plates have fused. MedlinePlus states that prognathism, or a protruding lower jaw, is associated with gigantism, and that it causes a person's teeth to be misaligned. The UMMC adds that the principal cause of excessive growth hormone release is a benign tumor of the pituitary gland, and that if excessive growth hormone floods a person's body after normal bone growth has ended, the condition is called acromegaly. According to MedlinePlus, along with gigantism, Crouzon syndrome or basal cell nevus syndrome can also cause prognathism.
Pierre Robin Syndrome
Pierre Robin syndrome is a disease that affects the jawbone. MedlinePlus states that Pierre Robin syndrome is present at birth and that an infant with the condition will have a smaller-than-usual lower jaw, a tongue that falls to the back of the throat and breathing difficulties. While the exact cause or causes of Pierre Robin syndrome are not known, it's believed that it may be associated with numerous genetic diseases. According to MedlinePlus, jaw development in infants with Pierre Robin syndrome accelerates during the first year of life, and most babies with the condition reach full development and size and lead a healthy and normal adult life.
The following signs and symptoms characterize Pierre Robin syndrome: cleft soft palate, high-arched palate, small jaw with receding chin, jaw placed far back in the throat, large-appearing tongue relative to jaw size, natal teeth or teeth appearing at birth, recurrent ear infections, and a small opening in the roof of the mouth.
Burkitt's Lymphoma
Burkitt's lymphoma is a disease that can affect the jawbone. According to The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library website, Burkitt's lymphoma is an aggressive, malignant type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that arises from B lymphocytes, or cells that make antibodies against antigens. Although Burkitt's lymphoma can manifest at any age, it's most common in children, teenagers and young adults, especially males. The Merck Manuals website states that Burkitt's lymphoma is most common in central Africa, is associated Epstein-Barr virus infection and is more common in people who have AIDS. The endemic form of Burkitt's lymphoma---the form that occurs in central Africa---is characterized by a large osteolytic, or bone-dissolving, tumor in the lower portion of the jaw, along with loose teeth, protruding eyeballs and an abdominal tumor near the kidneys or ovaries. According to the Merck Manuals website, without treatment, Burkitt's lymphoma is rapidly fatal.
