Relationship Between Attachment of the Superficial Masseter Muscle and Craniofacial Morphology in Dentate and Edentulous Humans

Abstract

Previous studies have described the importance of the interaction between the masticatory muscles and the craniofacial skeleton in the control of craniofacial growth. This study describes the attachment and orientation of the superficial masseter muscle and its relationship -with craniof acial morphology in dentate and edentulous subjects. Data were obtained from lateral cephalometric radiographs of a total of 31 cadavers in which the superficial masseter muscle had been defined with liquid barium.

The results provide evidence that the morphology of the superficial masseter muscle in the gonion region differed significantly between dentate and edentulous subjects, with the masseter being 2.7 mm wider and the gonion-anterior muscle border distance being 4.0 mm greater in dentate subjects. The complex relationship between craniofacial morphology and the dimensions and inclination of the superficial masseter muscle were most clearly evident in dentate subjects where the position of the anterior border was related to ramus dimensions and mandibular and occlusal plane angles. The association is much less clear in edentulous subjects where normal function was disturbed. In general, age was not a significant determinant of variation in superficial masseter muscle dimensions and orientation.

Keywords

Aging Dental Occlusion Face Jaw (Edentulous)Masseter Muscle.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bjork A. (1960). The relationship of the jaws to the cranium. In: Introduction toorthodontics. Lundstrom A , editor. New York: McGraw-Hill , pp. 104-140.

Brown T. (1973). Morphology of the Australian skull. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies .

Gionhaku N. , Lowe AA ( 1989). Relationship between jaw muscle volume and craniofacial form. J Dent Res 68:805-809.

Hannam AG , Wood WW ( 1989). Relationships between the size and spatial morphology of human masseter and medial pterygoid muscles, the craniofacial skeleton, and jaw biomechanics. Am J Phys Anthropol 80:429-445.

Horaist FJ (1974). A cephalometric and anatomical study of the relationship between the masseter muscle and gonial angle of the human mandible: a continuing study (MSc thesis). Hackensack, NJ: Fairleigh-Dickinson University.

Ingervell B. , Thilander B. (1974). Relation between facial morphology and activity of masticatory muscles. J Oral Rehabil 1:131-147.

Iwasaki LR (1987). A three dimensional analysis of isometric biting in long and short facial types (MSc thesis). Winnipeg, MB: University of Manitoba.

Moller E. (1966). The chewing apparatus. Acta Physiol Scand 69(Suppl 280):1-229.

Newton JP , Robertson RW , Yemm R. ( 1987). Changes in human masseter and medial pterygoid muscles with age: a study computed tomography. Gerodontics 3: 331-341.

10.

O'Ryan F. , Epker BN (1982). Determinants of Class II dentofacial morphology. IV. Biomechanical approaches to deliberate alteration of dentofacial morphology . In: The effect of surgical intervention on craniofacial growth. Monograph No. 12. McNamara JA , Carlson DS , Ribbens KA , editors. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, pp. 329-359.

11.

Proctor AD , De Vincenzo JP (1970). Masseter muscle position relative to dento-facial form. Angle Orthod 40:37-44.

12.

Richards LC (1983). Adaptation in masticatory system (PhD thesis) . Adelaide: The University of Adelaide .

13.

Sasaki K. , Hannam A. , Wood WW ( 1989). Relationships between the size, position and angulation of human jaw muscles and unilateral first molar bite force. J Dent Res 68:499-503.

14.

Sassouni V. (1969). A classification of skeletal facial types. Am J Orthod 55:109-123.

15.

Sassouni V. , Nanda SK (1964). Analysis of dento-facial vertical proportions . Am J Orthod 50:801-823.

16.

Tabe T. ( 1976). A study of the activities in the masticatory muscles and the morphology of the orofacial skeleton. II. The correlation between the activities in the masseter muscle and the biting force, and the morphology of the orofacial skeleton. J Jpn Orthod Soc 35 :255-265.

17.

Takada K. , Lowe AA , Freund VK (1984). Canonical correlations between masticatory muscle orientation and dentoskeletal morphology in children. Am J Orthod 86:331-342.

18.

Van Spronsen PH , Weijs WA , Prahl-Andersen B. , Valk J. , Van Ginkel F. (1989). Comparison of jaw muscle bite-force cross-sections obtained by means of magnetic resonance imaging and high resolution CT-scanning . J Dent Res 68:1765-1770.

19.

Van Spronsen PH , Weijs WA , Prahl-Andersen B. , Valk J. , Van Ginkel F. (1991). Relationships between jaw muscle cross-sections and craniofacial morphology in normal adults, studied with magnetic resonance imaging. Eur J Orthod 13:351-361.

20.

Van Spronsen PH , Weijs WA , Prahl-Andersen B. , Valk J. , Van Ginkel F. (1992). A comparison of jaw muscle cross-sections of long-face and normal adults. J Dent Res 71:1279-1285.

21.

Weijs WA , Hillen B. (1984a). Relationships between the physiological cross-section of the human jaw muscles and their cross-sectional area in computer tomograms . Acta Anat 118:129-138.

22.

Weijs WA , Hillen B. (1984b). Relationships between masticatory muscle cross-section and skull shape. J Dent Res 63:1154-1157.

23.

Weijs WA , Hillen B. (1986). Correlations between the cross-sectional area of the jaw muscles and craniofacial size and shape. Am J Phys Anthropol 70:423-431.