Relationship among the structure of mandibular alveolar bone, occlusal force, the masseter muscle, and maxillofacial morphology : Evaluation using cone beam computed tomography

Abstract

We elucidated the relationship among the thickness of the mandibular alveolar cortical bone, the thickness of the mandibular alveolar cancellous bone, maxillofacial morphology, occlusal force, and the masseter muscle. The subjects were 18 adult male volunteers with a mean age of 29 years who had normal occlusion. The thickness of the cortical and cancellous bone were measured using a cone beam computed tomography scan. The maxillofacial morphology was observed with lateral cephalograms and the occlusal force was measured with pressure-sensitive film. The volume of the masseter muscle was determined from MRI images and correlations were determined with Student's t-test. We found that subjects with highly developed cortical and cancellous bone have a relatively dolicofacial morphology, while those with poorly developed cortical and cancellous bone have a relatively brachiofacial morphology. The results suggest that masticatory function is related to thickness of the cancellous bone.