Maturational and functional related differences in rat craniofacial growth.

Background: Whilst decreases in masticatory muscle function have been linked with increased prevalences of craniofacial dysmorphology and malocclusion in humans, the relative susceptibility of the different craniofacial components remains poorly understood.

Methods: Thirty-two wild-type male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to two groups (n=16 each), one raised on a soft diet (SD) and the other on a hard diet (HD). Body weights and three radiographs (lateral, dorso-ventral, and tibial X-rays) were taken at baseline (T1=23 days old) and every 2 weeks thereafter for 8 weeks (T5=79 days old).