Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can be expressed as mental retardation, mainly craniofacial anomalies, as well as psychological disorders in children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. The article presents the most characteristic clinical features occurring in patients who were under irreversible prenatal exposure to alcohol, which crosses the placental barrier very easily. Ethyl alcohol and its main metabolite acetalaldehyde are teratogens which may cause various fetal disorders depending on the amount of alcohol consumed and the stage of pregnancy. The article describes the case of a seven-year-old patient who came for an orthodontic consultation at an out-patient clinic. The patient’s behaviour, facial features, malloclusion and positive medical history with frequent alcohol exposure during fetal development prompted the authors to focus on the problem of FAS.

Key words: fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol effect, alcohol related neurodevelopment disorders, alcohol.