Craniomaxillofacial morphology in a murine model of ephrinB1 conditional deletion in osteoprogenitor cells.

Objective: EFNB1 mutation causes craniofrontonasal dysplasia (CFND), a congenital syndrome associated with craniomaxillofacial anomalies characterised by coronal craniosynostosis, orbital hypertelorism, and midface dysplasia. The aim of this murine study was to investigate the effect of the EfnB1 conditional gene deletion in osteoprogenitor cells on the craniomaxillofacial skeletal morphology.

Design: The skulls of male and female mice, in which EfnB1 was deleted by Cre (a site-specific DNA recombinase) under the control of the Osterix (Osx) promoter (EfnB1), were compared to those without EfnB1 deletion (Osx:Cre control) at two ages (4 and 8 weeks; n = 6 per group).

Craniofacial Phenomics: Three-Dimensional Assessment of the Size and Shape of Cranial and Dentofacial Structures.

Craniofacial phenomics has opened up numerous opportunities to correlate genetic and epigenetic factors to craniofacial phenotypes in order to improve our understanding of growth and development in health and disease. Three-dimensional (3D) imaging has played a key role in advancing craniofacial phenomics by facilitating highly sensitive and specific characterizations of craniofacial and dental morphology. Here we describe the use of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to image the murine craniofacial complex, followed by surface reconstruction for traditional morphometric analyses.

Tooth wear development in the Australian Aboriginal dentition from Yuendumu: A longitudinal study.

The analysis of dental wear, at both the microscopic and macroscopic scale, is one of the most widely used tools in archeology and anthropology to reconstruct the diet and lifestyle of past human populations. Biomechanical studies have indicated that tooth wear helps to dissipate the mechanical load over the crown surface, thus reducing the risk of tooth fracture. To date, there are only a few studies that have examined functional tooth wear variation in modern humans.

A functional analysis of Carabelli trait in Australian aboriginal dentition.

Objectives: Carabelli is a nonmetric dental trait variably expressed as a small pit to a prominent cusp in the maxillary molars of modern humans. Investigations on the occurrence and expression rates of this trait have been conducted extensively, tracing its origin to genetic sources. However, there remains a lack of understanding about its potential role in chewing.

Dentinal dysplasia type 1: A 3D micro-computed tomographic study of enamel, dentine and root canal morphology.

Dentine dysplasia type 1 is a rare and complex dental anomaly. Our aim was to conduct a morphometric assessment of a dentinal dysplasia type 1c (DD1c) caries-free mandibular second molar, extracted due to symptomatic apical periodontitis. Controls consisted of five intact mandibular second molars.

Craniofacial abnormalities in a murine model of Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome.

Background: Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome (SCS) is an autosomal dominant syndrome that occurs due to a mutation or deletion of the Twist1 gene at chromosome 7p21. Our aim was to conduct a morphometric analysis of the craniofacial features in the mouse associated with a Twist1 mutation.

Methods: Micro-computed imaging was conducted for the skulls of forty skeletally mature mice, equally distributed by sex (male and female) and two genotypes (Twist1 or murine model of SCS; and Twist1 or wild-type).

Technical note: The use of 3D printing in dental anthropology collections.

Objectives: Rapid prototyping (RP) technology is becoming more affordable, faster, and is now capable of building models with a high resolution and accuracy. Due to technological limitations, 3D printing in biological anthropology has been mostly limited to museum displays and forensic reconstructions. In this study, we compared the accuracy of different 3D printers to establish whether RP can be used effectively to reproduce anthropological dental collections, potentially replacing access to oftentimes fragile and irreplaceable original material.

Three-dimensional (3D) geometric morphometric analysis of human premolars to assess sexual dimorphism and biological ancestry in Australian populations.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate size and shape variation of human premolars between Indigenous Australians and Australians of European ancestry, and to assess whether sex and ancestry could be differentiated between these groups using 3D geometric morphometrics.

Materials And Methods: Seventy dental casts from each group, equally subdivided by sex, were scanned using a structured-light scanner. The 3D meshes of upper and lower premolars were processed using geometric morphometric methods.

Extensive phenotyping of the orofacial and dental complex in Crouzon syndrome.

Objectives: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) mutation is a known cause of Crouzon syndrome that is characterised by craniosynostosis and midfacial hypoplasia. Our aim was to conduct extensive phenotyping of the maxillary, mandibular and dental morphology associated with this mutation.

Materials And Methods: Morphometric data were obtained from 40 mice, representing two genotypes (Crouzon and wild-type) and two sexes (males and females) (n=10 in each group).