Christer Engström

The relationship between maximal bite force, bite force endurance, and facial morphology during growth: A cross-sectional study

The aims of this investigation were to study the relation between facial morphology and bite force at different ages during growth and to investigate possible relations between bite force and the variables age, finger force, stature, and sex in growing healthy individuals. One hundred and thirty-six individuals were included, consisting of six groups of males and females, 7-9, 10-12, and 20-24 years old. Standardized photographs were taken to determine the facial type. The occlusal relationship, body height, finger force, maximal bite force, and bite force endurance amplitude were recorded. All bite force variables and finger force increased with age in both sexes. A positive correlation was found between the maximal bite force in the incisor region and the ratio of upper to lower facial height; this is, subjects with a high bite force had a relatively short lower anterior height. The maximal bite force for molars and endurance amplitude were positively correlated to stature and finger force but not to facial characteristics. A longitudinal study to follow each individual child during growth would be of interest to evaluate the importance of muscular influence on facial growth.

Histochemical analysis of masticatory muscle in the growing rat after prolonged alteration in the consistency of the diet

Changes in muscle function induce alteration in craniofacial bone growth. To study morphological changes after alteration of masticatory function, NADH-TR reductase and myofibrillar Ca2+-activated ATPase were assessed histochemically, after alkaline and acid pre-incubation, in sections from the anterior deep masseter and the anterior digastric muscles. Type IIA, IIB and transitional fibres of the anterior deep masseter but not of the digastric muscle were smaller in a soft-diet group than in a normal-diet group. There was a small percentage of type IIA fibres and a large percentage of type IIB fibres in the anterior deep masseter in the soft-diet than in the normal-diet group. The elevator muscles do not encounter the same functional demands on a soft as on a normal diet, and this causes different biting and chewing loads, which may in turn induce skeletal changes.

Effect of orthodontic force on periodontal tissue metabolism a histologic and biochemical study in normal and hypocalcemic young rats

The relationship between force and degradation activity after application of orthodontic force is still obscure. Of particular clinical interest are the etiologic factors behind excessive root resorptions appearing in connection with orthodontic movement of teeth that has been proposed to be influenced by systemic factors regulating the tissue-degrading activity in periodontal tissues. Thus, the aim was, by histologic and new biochemical methods, to investigate the effect of orthodontic forces on the periodontal tissues in the normal and the hypocalcemic situation with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Root resorptions were induced in upper incisors of normal and hypocalcemic rats by subjecting the teeth to a moderate orthodontic force. In both groups the resorption of the roots occurred consistently in the vicinity of reorganizing areas of the periodontal ligament (PDL) with ongoing degradative activities and alveolar bone resorption. Furthermore, specific cell metabolic changes in alveolar bone and PDL in tension and pressure zones were detected and quantified by biochemical determination of alkaline phosphatase activity. This biochemical quantification of the metabolic changes together with the morphologic observations gave the clinically valuable information that the observed increase in occurrence and severity of root resorptions in moderate hypocalcemia was related to an increase in alveolar bone turnover. This study has shown that root resorptions were clearly related to the degradation process occurring in the vicinity of the hyaline zone and that in the hypocalcemic situation, the increase in root resorptions was related to an enhanced alveolar bone resorption. Thus, factors that minimize the time for resorptive/degradative activity should be discussed in this context rather than force per se.