Premature facial synostosis: The influence of biomechanical factors in normal and hypocalcaemic young rats

Premature fusion of the internasal suture was induced by feeding young rats a low calcium and vitamin D-deficient diet for 24 and 28 days A biomechanical force that expanded the interpremaxillary suture area for 3–7 days extended the obliterated region of the internasal suture in the diet-deficient rats more than in deficient control rats In normal rats of the same age as the diet deficient rats, a minor bony obliteration was induced in the internasal suture by a biomechanical force that expanded the median palatine suture area The study thus shows that disturbed bone remodelling induced by hypocalcaemia and hyperparathyroidism causes premature fusion of facial sutures In addition to this metabolic aetiology of suture fusion, it was found that biomechanical forces play an important role in postnatal suture obliteration Furthermore, it was concluded on the basis of circumstantial evidence that biomechanical factors act during development of suture fusion by restricting the direction of growth of specific bones.