Maxillofacial morphological factors related to acceleration of maxillary growth attributed to facial mask treatment: a structural superimposition study

Abstract Background Anatomical textbooks mention that the contact between the pterygoid process and the palatine’s pyramidal process is not a “suture” but “conjugation.”.The aim was to evaluate the maxillofacial morphological factor responding most to the orthopedic force of facial mask treatment, using the structural superimposition analysis. Methods Thirty-one girls with Angle Class III malocclusion treated using a facial mask (FM group) and 11 girls with pseudo-Class III malocclusion (pseudo-III group) were examined. Lateral cephalograms at pre- and posttreatment were analyzed to evaluate maxillofacial changes. Cephalometric structural superimposition analysis originating with Björk and Skieller was also performed. Results In the FM group, a multiple linear regression model showed that maxillary sutural growth was significantly associated with counter-clockwise rotation of the maxilla and treatment changes in the anteroposterior distance from the pterygomaxillary fissure to the maxillary anterior alveolus, not changes in the distance from the nasion to the maxillary anterior alveolus. Conclusions Structural superimposition analysis showed that counter-clockwise rotation of the maxilla and changes in the distance from the pterygomaxillary fissure to the maxillary anterior alveolus responded most to the orthopedic force of facial mask treatment. The analysis implicated that the pterygoid fissure–palatine’s pyramidal process conjugation responds most to facial mask treatment among maxillofacial sutures and conjugation, and that the difference in the response induces maxillary counter-clockwise rotation

Three-dimensional craniomaxillary characteristics of the mouse with spontaneous malocclusion using micro-computed tomography

The aim of this study was to clarify the morphological characteristics of cranio-maxillary deviations in BALB/c-bm/bm mice with a spontaneous malocclusion (incisal transverse crossbite) using three-dimensional (3D) morphological measurements. Sixty female mice aged 13 and 25 weeks were divided into the following groups: control (BALB/c-+/+ mice, n = 20), Norm (BALB/c-bm/bm mice with a normal occlusion, n = 20), and Mal (BALB/c-bm/bm mice with a malocclusion, n = 20). Various points in the skull were selected and the distances between two points were measured using images of 3D micro-computed tomography (CT). At both ages, the lengths of almost all measurements in the Norm and Mal groups were significantly shorter than those in the control group. Comparison between the shifted and non-shifted sides in the Mal group showed that significant lateral deviation at the maxilla and nasal bone had occurred. Statistically significant differences in measurement values among the three groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a probability level of P <0.05 considered statistically significant. Using 3D micro-CT images, the results of this study quantitatively showed that the cranio-maxillary complex of BALB/c-bm/bm mice is significantly smaller than that of BALB/c-+/+ mice and that BALB/c-bm/bm mice have a spontaneous transverse crossbite due to lateral deviation of the maxilla and nasal bone

Association between an Increased Serum CCL5 Level and Pathophysiology of Degenerative Joint Disease in the Temporomandibular Joint in Females

Degenerative joint disease of the temporomandibular joints (DJD-TMJ) clinically manifests with symptoms such as orofacial pain, joint sounds and limited jaw movements. Our research group previously reported the functional necessity of a chemokine-chemokine receptor axis of CCL5-CCR5 in osteoclasts. Accumulated studies reported that this axis was involved in the pathogenesis of bone and joint destructive diseases, suggesting CCL5 as a potent biomarker. This study investigated whether or not the serum level of CCL5 can be a biomarker of DJD-TMJ and concomitantly analyzed changes in the serum and urine levels of bone markers to see whether or not changes in the rate of bone metabolism were predisposing. We enrolled 17 female subjects with diagnosed DJD-TMJ and sexually and age-matched 17 controls. The serum CCL5 level in DJD-TMJ subjects was significantly higher than that in the control subjects. Multivariate analyses indicated an association between an augmented CCL5 level and the rate of bone metabolism, especially in relatively young DJD-TMJ subjects without other systemic symptoms. A principal component analysis of serum markers and our pharmacological experiment using a postmenopausal model of ovariectomized rats suggested that an augmented serum CCL5 level specifically reflected DJD-TMJ and that covert changes in the rate of bone metabolism predisposed individuals to DJD-TMJ