RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The possibility of a prognosis regarding the morphologic aspect of the passive component of stomatognathic apparatus was assessed through some researches on the viscero-cranium aspect. METHOD: The study used 20 skulls or skull fragments, 8 were from the first century A.D., 4 from the Middle Ages and the rest of 8 were from the XX-th century. All The skulls were found on the Romanian territory. A series of measurements were made on the maxilla, mandible and on the face as a whole; the results were compared with the literature data. RESULTS: The skulls discovered in the Neolithic necropolis existing on the Romanian territory are of mediterranoic type, with an antero-posterior prolonged skull and with narrow dental arches, presenting a prognathism according to the shape of the skull. After the Neolithic, the shape of the skull changes to a more rounded one and the dental arches become upsiloid. In the Middle Age, the dental arches tend to evolve from the upsiloid type to the paraboloid type. In our century, the paraboloid form of the dental arches is maintained (semiellipitic shape of the maxilla and the parabolic shape of the mandible). CONCLUSIONS: During the ages, the evolution of masticator apparatus was influenced mainly by the genetic factor regarding the shape and the pathology, but also, in some degree, by the dietary habits. Multiple changes have been made possible a gene crossing between individuals. Due to the genetic mixture between the local element and the migratory population, the evolution of the stomatognathic apparatus to paraboloid dental arches is explained, although upsiloid dental arches can be found.
