Masticatory muscle influence on craniofacial growth.

The influence of the masticatory muscle function on craniofacial growth has been recorded in a series of animal experimental and clinical studies. The common characteristic of these investigations is that the elevator muscles of the mandible influence the transversal and the vertical dimensions of the face. The increased loading of the jaws due to masticatory muscle hyperfunction may lead to increased sutural growth and bone apposition, resulting in turn in an increased transversal growth of the maxilla and broader bone bases for the dental arches. Furthermore, an increase in the function of the masticatory muscles is associated with anterior growth rotation pattern of the mandible and with well-developed angular, coronoid, and condylar processes.