Effects of Diet Consistency on Rat Maxillary and Mandibular Growth within Three Generations—A Longitudinal CBCT Study

SIMPLE SUMMARY: It has been established that a variety of factors, including the environment, influence craniofacial growth. Environmental alterations are regarded to have the potential to impact maxillary and mandibular growth. Numerous studies have partially addressed the question of how diet consistency influences maxillary and mandibular growth in one generation of rats by suggesting that diet consistency may lead to variable masticatory forces that affect mandibular growth. There has not been any research carried out yet that looks at potential qualitative and quantitative growth changes in the maxilla and mandible throughout the course of different generations using 3D imaging technology and wistar rats as the experimental animal of choice. The current study assessed the effects of various meal compositions on the growth of the mandible across three generations. The findings of this study suggest that a soft diet may be to blame for decreased maxillary and mandibular growth, and this genetic information may be passed down through the generations. ABSTRACT: Background: In this study, wistar rats were used to examine the impact of diet consistency on maxillary and mandibular growth over three generations. Methods: In this investigation, a breeding sample of 60 female and 8 male wistar rats was used. Measuring was only performed on female animals. The first generation’s primary breeding sample consisted of 20 female wistar rats that were 30 days old and 4 male rats that were also 30 days old; two subsequent generations were created from these animals. At the age of 100 days, CBCTs were collected of all male rats. Twenty-eight craniofacial landmarks were selected for the linear measurements on stl format extracted from the DICOM files. A Bonferroni test was performed for the statistical analysis. Results: Means of measurements of all soft diet groups compared to corresponding measurements of the hard diet groups were significantly different. According to linear measurements, there was statistical difference on the maxillary measurements between the soft diet groups of the first and third generation, while the rest did not appear to have any statistical difference. There was significant difference for the mandibular dimensions only when the first generation soft diet group was compared with the third generation soft diet group. Conclusions: Food consistency has a significant impact on the growth and development of the maxilla and mandible. Soft diet habits may result in retrognathic mandible, and narrower maxilla.