Four main mastication muscles control jaw movement and chewing. Masseter raises lower jaw for chewing and closing mouth. Medial pterygoid moves jaw forward or side to side. Lateral pterygoid opens mouth and aids chewing. Buccinator prevents cheek biting and controls mouth airflow
The palate is a bony/muscular partition that separates the oral and nasal cavities. The hard palate is the anterior bony portion formed by maxillae and palatine bones. The soft palate is the posterior muscular part containing palatine aponeurosis