DEVELOPMENT OF JAWS

Dr. Ayesha Aslam

PG Resident
Dept. of Prosthodontics
Army Medical College
National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST),

JAWS
Mandible
Maxilla

MECKELS CARTILAGE

MECKELS CARTILAGE
Cartilage of the 1st pharyngeal arch
Forms lower jaw in primitive vertebrates
In humans
a close positional relationship to the developing mandible
Makes no direct contribution
Delimits the region where bone formation will take place

MECKELS CARTILAGE
DEVELOPMENT
At 6 weeks
A solid hyaline cartilaginous rod
Surrounded by a fibrocellular capsule
Extends from the developing ear region (otic capsule) to the midline
of the fused mandibular processes
Two cartilages, one on each side of midline, do not meet at the center
Separated by a thin band of mesenchyme

MANDIBULAR NERVE
Nerve of the 1st arch
Branch of Trigeminal nerve (CN V)
Has a close relationship to Meckels cartilage
Begins two-third of the way along the length of the cartilage
Divides into Lingual and Inferior Alveolar branches
Lingual nerve runs on the medial aspect of the cartilage, while inferior alveolar runs on
the lateral aspect
Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) further divides into
Incisor/ incisive nerve
Mental nerve

MANDIBLE

MANDIBLE
Body
Ramus
Alveolar
process

6th week of
embryonic life
Lateral aspect of Meckels
cartilage
Angle formed by the division of IAN into its 2
branches
Condensation of
mesenchyme
7th week of IU
life
Intra-membranous ossification in the
condensation
Forms the first bone of the

Centre of
Ossification
Spread of Bone
formation
Anteriorly to the
midline

Bone forms along the lateral aspect of

cartilage
Forms a trough with lateral and
medial plates
The two plates unite beneath the
incisor nerve
Trough extends to the
midline

Posteriorly to the point of

division of mandibular
nerve.

Trough of
bone
Comes into approximation with the trough of
opposite side
The two centers of ossification remain separated at the
symphysis
Bone forms over the
nerve
Lateral and medial plates are
joined
Trough converts into a
canal

Backward extension of
Ossification
On the lateral aspect of Meckels
cartilage
To the point where Mandibular nerve divides into lingual
and IAN

From the point of division of Mandibular n. to

the midline
Medial and lateral alveolar plates of
bone develop
In relation to the forming tooth
germs
BODY OF THE
MANDIBLE
Subdivide the trough of
bone
Teeth occupy individual
compartments
Compartments enclosed by growth of bone over the
tooth germs

Rapid spread of ossification posteriorly into the

mesenchyme
Turns away from the Meckels
cartilage
RAMUS OF THE MANDIBLE
Point of divergence marked by lingula in
adult mandible
Lingula point where IAN enters the body of
the mandible

MANDIBLE
Rudimentary mandible
Formed by 10 weeks of IU life
Entirely by intramembranous ossification
With little or no involvement of Meckels cartilage
Has neural, alveolar and muscular elements
Growth is assisted by secondary cartilages

FATE OF MECKELS CARTILAGE

Major portion

Posterior
Extremity
Fibrocellular
capsule

Lost

Incus and Malleus of

inner ear
Sphenomalleolar
ligament

Sphenomandibular
ligament

Small contribution to
mandible by
endochondral
ossification

From sphenoid to div.

of Mandibular n.

From the point of

div. of IAN to
midline

From sphenoid to div. of

Mandibular n.
From lingual to div. of IAN

GROWTH OF MANDIBLE
Growth until birth is influenced by the appearance of
03 secondary cartilages (aka growth cartilages)
Muscular attachments

SECONDARY CARTILAGES
Called as secondary to distinguish from the primary Meckels cartilage
Have a different histologic structure
Have larger cells and less inter-cellular matrix
1. Condylar Cartilage
2. Coronoid Cartilage
3. Symphyseal Cartilage

SECONDARY CARTILAGES
1. CONDYLAR CARTILAGE
Appears at 12 weeks of development
Forms a cone/carrot-shaped mass that occupies the developing ramus
Quickly converted to bone by endochondral ossification
At 20 weeks of IU life
only a thin layer of cartilage remains in the condylar head

Remnant cartilage
Persists till 2nd decade of life (age 10 20 years)
Aids in post-natal growth of mandible
Similar to the epiphyseal cartilage of long bones

SECONDARY CARTILAGES
2. CORONOID CARTILAGE
Appears at about 4 months of development (12 weeks)
Surmounts the anterior border and top of the coronoid process
A transient growth cartilage
Disappears long before birth

SECONDARY CARTILAGES
3. SYMPHYSEAL CARTILAGE

02 in number
Appear in the connective tissue between the two ends of Meckels cartilage
Entirely independent of the Meckels cartilage
Ossified within the first year after birth

4. OTHER
Small island of cartilage
Appear in developing alveolar processes
Variable and transient structures

MAXILLA

MAXILLA - ANATOMY
Body large and pyramidal
Processes

Frontal
Zygomatic
Alveolar
Palatine

Houses the largest sinus maxillary sinus

Closely associated with cartilage of

nasal capsule
Angle formed by the division Inferior Orbital Nerve into anterosuperior
alveolar nerve
In the mesenchyme of the maxillary process of
the 1st arch
Centre of ossification 7th
week
Bone formation
spreads

Posteriorly
below the orbit toward
the developing
zygoma

Anteriorly

Superiorly

Towards the future

incisor region

To form the
frontal process

In to the
palatine
process

Trough of
bone
Forms for the infraorbital
nerve
Downward extension of bone from
the trough
Lateral alveolar plate for the maxillary
tooth germs
Medial alveolar plate develops from junction of palatal process and body
of forming maxilla
Lateral and medial plates join to form a trough around
maxillary tooth germs
Tooth germs enclosed in bony crypts by growth of
bone over them

MAXILLA
At birth, maxilla has
Well marked frontal process
Body with little more than the alveolar process containing tooth germs
Small but distinguishable zygomatic processes and palatal processes

Body of the maxilla

Small
Maxillary sinus has not yet developed

Maxillary Sinus
Forms during 16th week of IU life
A shallow groove on the nasal aspect of developing maxilla
At birth rudimentary, about the size of a small pea!

MAXILLA
SECONDARY CARTILAGE
A zygomatic or malar cartilage
Appears in the developing zygomatic process
Adds considerably to the development of maxilla for a short period of time

COMMON FEATURES OF JAW DEVELOPMENT

i.

Membranous ossification

ii. Begin from a single ossification center related to a nerve

iii. Form a neural element related to the nerve
iv. Form an alveolar element related to the developing teeth
v. Develop secondary cartilages to assist in their growth

CONGENITAL DEFECTS

EMBRYOGENESIS
A complicated and delicately balanced process
Between 4th and 8th weeks of development
Morphogenesis
Histodifferentiation

Formation of face, mouth, tongue and associated structures

Any malfunction produces congenital defects

CAUSES OF CONGENITAL DEFECTS

Hereditary Factors
Environmental Factors:
1. Infectious Agents
2. X-ray Radiation
3. Drugs
4. Hormones
5. Nutritional Deficiencies

TIMING OF THE FACTORS

During the first 4 weeks
Extensive damage of cells death of embryo occurs
If only a few cells are damaged normal proliferation
eliminates the damage

Between 4 and 8 weeks (Histodifferentiation / organ

differentiation)
Malformations

CLEFTS
Malformation of a part of the face
May appear as an opening or gap
A collective term bone, soft-tissues, skin etc. all can be
affected

CLASSIFICATION
Tessier Classification
Clefts are numbered 0 to 14.
15 different types of clefts can be put into 4 groups, based on their position:
Midline clefts
Paramedian clefts
Orbital clefts
Lateral clefts

Describes the clefts at soft tissue level as well as at bone level.

Tessier Classification

CLASSIFICATION
Van der Meulen classification
based on where the development arrest occurs in the embryogenesis
can be divided in four different location groups:
Internasal
Nasal
Nasalmaxillar
Maxillar
Median
Lateral clefts

Van der Meulen classification

CLEFTS

CLEFT LIP AND PALATE

CAUSES OF CLEFT PLATE

Failure of palatine shelves and septum to contact each other
Lack of growth
Disturbance in the mechanism of shelf elevation

Failure of shelves and septum to fuse after contact has been made
Epithelium covering the shelves does not resorb

Rupture after fusion of shelves has occurred

Defective merging and consolidation of the mesenchyme of
shelves