ABSTRACT
The lower jaw is a major determinant in the masticatory function and also in facial appearance. Deviant growth of the mandible results in variable malocclusions ranging from frontal cross-bite where, for instance, to a large overjet with palatal impingement of the lower anterior teeth. This chapter considers the regulation of the growth of the alveolar bone by factors affecting the position of teeth, notably tooth eruption and migration, for it is obvious that the position of the teeth directly determines the growth of the alveolar bone in both jaws. The human coronoid process grows, or drifts, upwards and backwards by bone apposition at its posterior border coupled with resorption along the anterior border. Assumptions regarding the regulation of mandibular growth direction can be divided roughly into those implying that it is determined by factors lying outside the temporomandibular joint, inside the temporomandibular joint and intermediate factors. Different parts of the mandible have growth mechanisms which differ markedly from each other.
