The development of masticatory biomechanics from the prenatal to prepubertal period

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Mastication is coordinated motor skill that is most effective through synchronized crosstalk between the teeth, bone and muscles. A combination of molecular signaling and central pattern generators govern the development and physiology of mastication. As primates, humans have evolved with the changing dietary shifts for their survival. The adaptive mechanisms in the involved structures allows us to puncture, pierce, cut, crush, grind, nip, incise, scrap, and strip different dietary textures. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to understand the developmental dynamics and rhythmogenesis of mastication in children from the point of view of myology, odontology, and evolutionary perspective. RELEVANCE: This chronological review helps in understanding how the multi-faceted nature of the masticatory apparatus comes into being from the prenatal to the prepubertal period. It enables pediatricians and pediatric dental surgeons to understand the oro-motor development while intervening with any treatment involving muscle tonicity of the masticatory organ.