Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

Method of Studying Palatal Fusion using Static Organ Culture
Published on: September 19, 2015
Early postnatal development of the mandibular permanent first molar in infants with isolated cleft palate
Nuno V Hermann1, Mostafa Zargham, Tron A Darvann
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Clinical Genetics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. nuno@sund.ku.dk
Background:
Based on measurements on dental casts, smaller permanent teeth in children with cleft palate have previously been reported in the literature; however, the early maturation of teeth and the size of the follicles and crowns have not been investigated.
Hypothesis:
The maturation of the mandibular permanent first molar (M1(inf)) is delayed, and the mesiodistal diameters of the follicle and crown of M1(inf), respectively, are reduced in children with isolated cleft palate (ICP).
Design:
Retrospective, longitudinal. Cephalometric X-rays were available for 2 and 22 months old children with clefts (64 children with ICP, and a control group of 38 children with unilateral incomplete cleft lip). The width of the follicle and the crown of M1(inf), and the maturation of M1(inf) were assessed. Intra-observer error was acceptable.
Results:
M1(inf) maturation was delayed in children with ICP at both 2 and 22 months of age. The mesiodistal diameter of the crown of M1(inf) in the ICP group was reduced. Thus, the two hypotheses could not be refuted.
Conclusions:
Children with ICP showed smaller dimensions of the M1(inf) , and in addition, the maturation of M1(inf) was delayed.
Related Concept Videos
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Oral
Weaning, typically occurring around the age...
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...
Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...

