Histochemical analysis of masticatory muscle in the growing rat after prolonged alteration in the consistency of the diet.

Changes in muscle function induce alteration in craniofacial bone growth. To study morphological changes after alteration of masticatory function, NADH-TR reductase and myofibrillar Ca2+-activated ATPase were assessed histochemically, after alkaline and acid pre-incubation, in sections from the anterior deep masseter and the anterior digastric muscles. Type IIA, IIB and transitional fibres of the anterior deep masseter but not of the digastric muscle were smaller in a soft-diet group than in a normal-diet group. There was a small percentage of type IIA fibres and a large percentage of type IIB fibres in the anterior deep masseter in the soft-diet than in the normal-diet group. The elevator muscles do not encounter the same functional demands on a soft as on a normal diet, and this causes different biting and chewing loads, which may in turn induce skeletal changes.