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Forceful mastication activates osteocytes and builds a stout jawbone - Scientific Reports
Bone undergoes a constant reconstruction process of resorption and formation called bone remodeling, so that it can endure mechanical loading. During food ingestion, masticatory muscles generate the required masticatory force. The magnitude of applied masticatory force has long been believed to...

Mechanistically, increased mastication induced Insulin–like growth factor (IGF)-1 and suppressed sclerostin in osteocytes. IGF-1 enhanced osteoblastogenesis of the cells derived from tendon. Together, these findings indicate that the osteocytes balance the cytokine expression upon the mechanical loading of increased mastication, in order to enhance bone formation. This bone formation leads to morphological change in the jawbone, so that the bone adapts to the mechanical environment to which it is exposed.


The effect of retraining hypofunctional jaw muscles on the transverse skull dimensions of adult rats - PubMed
Retraining of masticatory muscles in adult rats leads to increase of some transverse cranial dimensions.

The increase of the anterior zygomatic arch width and interzygomatic width during the experimental period were larger in the rehabilitation group compared to both the normal and the hypofunctional group.

Rehabilitation of masticatory function improves the alveolar bone architecture of the mandible in adult rats - PubMed
Masticatory functional changes have been shown to influence the quantity and quality of the alveolar bone during growth. This study was designed to investigate the effect of masticatory function rehabilitation on the morphology and the trabecular architecture of the mandibular alveolar bone...

On the other hand, both the normal and rehabilitation groups were had a wider alveolar process than the hypofunctional group (p<0.05). Both alveolar height and width were significantly correlated with all micro-tomographic parameters under study. The rehabilitation of masticatory function led to a significant improvement of alveolar bone architecture in adult rats, although the negative effects of hypofunction were not totally reversed during the period under study.
The Supraorbital Torus: "A Most Remarkable Peculiarity" [and Comments and Replies] on JSTOR
Mary Doria Russell, T. Brown, Stanley M. Garn, Fakhry Giris, Spencer Turkel, , Ordean J. Oyen, Burkhard Jacobshagen, Michael Pietrusewsky, G. Philip Rightmire, Fred H. Smith, Christy G. Turner II, , The Supraorbital Torus: "A Most Remarkable Peculiarity" [and Comments and Replies], Current...
The supraorbital torus is found only in some genera of the primate order. Because no muscles of consequence attach directly to it, it has been considered non-functional. However, invitro strain-gauge experiments demonstrate that when the anterior teeth are loaded, the supraorbital region acts as a bent beam, pulled downward on each end by masticatory muscle forces and pushed upward centrally by bite force. Clinical and experimental data indicate that in response to repeated dynamic bending stress, adaptive cellular activity reconstructs skeletal material until bending stresses are neutralized. With these facts in mind, the hypothesis that supraorbital development is, in part, a predictable ontogenetic response to in-vivo bending stresses which concentrate over the eyes during anterior tooth loading was tested by means of a biomechanical model. The bent-beam model states that supraorbital bending is a function of the area moment of inertia of the forehead (relative to the direction of the bite force) and of the bending moment. When this model was tested on a series of Australian Aboriginal crania, significant relationships were found between brow ridge development and measures of forehead area moment and bending moment. It was concluded that the torus functions to resist bending stress concentrated over the eyes during anterior biting and that its development is proportional to the amount of such stress which cannot be resisted by the unadorned frontal bone.
Mastication plays a crucial role in jaw development and bone density. Chewing harder or tougher foods can contribute to stronger and more well-developed jaws, which is beneficial for overall attractiveness, oral health, and function. Encouraging a diet that includes a variety of textures and requires ample chewing can support optimal jaw-bone health throughout life.