A biomechanical analysis of craniofacial form and bite force.

In vivo measurements of bite force and bone strain obtained in growing African green monkeys were used to study skull biology and geometry. Strain values and distributional patterns seen in association with forceful jaw elevation were inconsistent with most conventional explanations that link upper facial morphology with masticatory function and use beam models of craniofacial architecture. The results mandate careful use of concepts about skeletal geometry based on static analysis that have not been experimentally verified with in vivo procedures. In particular, a reevaluation of conventional ideas about the generation and dissipation of forces during contraction of the jaw elevator muscles seems called for.