Effects of masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in growing ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

Studying the effects of masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in animal models with different masticatory systems is important for further understanding of related issues in humans. Forty 5-wk-old male ferrets were equally divided into two groups. One group was fed a diet of hard pellets (HDG) and the other group was fed the same diet but softened with water (SDG). Lateral and dorsoventral cephalograms were taken on each group after 6 months. Cephalometric measurements were performed by digital procedures. For SDG ferrets, the hard palate plane was more distant from the cranial base plane, and canines were more proclined compared with HDG ferrets. The SDG ferrets were also found to have smaller interfrontal and interparietal widths, and a slenderer zygomatic arch than the HDG ferrets. In the mandible, the coronoid process was generally shorter and narrower for the SDG ferrets. The effects of the altered masticatory muscle function on craniofacial morphology in growing ferrets seemed to differ from those previously reported in other animal models studied under similar experimental conditions. Such differences in the effects are presumably related to the differences in the mode of mastication, craniofacial anatomy and growth pattern in different animal models.