At what age does a baby skull fuse together? (2023)

At what age is the skull fully fused?

The sutures of the skull fuse around the brain at around age 2 years. When a baby has craniosynostosis, one or more of these sutures hardens too early and closes before the baby reaches age 2.

Many parents worry that their baby will be injured if the soft spot is touched or brushed over. The fontanel is covered by a thick, tough membrane which protects the brain. There is absolutely no danger of damaging your baby with normal handling. Don't be afraid to touch, brush over, or wash over the soft spot.

The posterior fontanelle usually closes by age 1 or 2 months. It may already be closed at birth. The anterior fontanelle usually closes sometime between 9 months and 18 months. The sutures and fontanelles are needed for the infant's brain growth and development.

A dramatically sunken fontanelle or a persistently bulging fontanelle, accompanied with poor feeding, vomiting, drowsiness or failure to thrive are issues to raise with your pediatrician. Soft spots serve an important purpose during childbirth: allowing the baby's head to be moldable during a vaginal delivery.

Sutures. Sutures are an incredible benefit to newborn babies. Serving as the “glue” that holds the large bones together, sutures offer the skull flexibility to move and grow as the baby matures. The major sutures are called the metopic, coronal, sagittal, and lambdoid sutures.

These soft spots are spaces between the bones of the skull where bone formation isn't complete. This allows the skull to be molded during birth. The smaller spot at the back usually closes by age 2 to 3 months. The larger spot toward the front often closes around age 18 months.

You cannot hurt your baby by touching their fontanelle, patting their head or washing their hair. The posterior (back) fontanelle closes at around 2-3 months of age. The anterior (front) fontanelle closes between 12-18 months of age. Early or late closure of fontanelles can be a sign of certain conditions.

Three months to six months

Naturally, your baby doesn't have enough strength at this age to stand, so if you hold him in a standing position and put his feet on the floor he'll sag at the knees.

Slight imperfections in your baby's head are normal, especially in the first month after birth. But as your baby grows, a misshapen head could be a sign of something else. The earlier you can get a diagnosis—ideally, before the age of 6 months—the more effective treatment can be.

At what age is craniosynostosis surgery done?

For optimal results, minimally invasive surgery for craniosynostosis should be performed before age 3 months. "However, there are circumstances — such as if the abnormality is milder — that allow us to do minimally invasive surgery successfully even for slightly older children," Dr. Ahn says.

Primary craniosynostosis is usually apparent at birth or within a few months shortly thereafter (neonatal period). Mild cases may go undiagnosed until early during childhood. An infant's skull has seven bones and several joints called sutures.

Doctors can identify craniosynostosis during a physical exam. A doctor will feel the baby's head for hard edges along the sutures and unusual soft spots. The doctor also will look for any problems with the shape of the baby's face.

Soft spot that doesn't close

If the soft spot stays big or doesn't close after about a year, it is sometimes a sign of a genetic condition such as congenital hypothyroidism. What you should do: Talk to your doctor about treatment options.

What Should You Do If Your Baby Hits His Soft Spot? Contact your baby's healthcare provider if your baby hits his soft spot. If you notice swelling/bulging of the soft spot and/or bruising around her eyes or behind her ears, it may be due to a concussion. Call 911 immediately.

A baby's soft spots are called fontanelles. They allow your baby's brain to grow larger at a fast rate over their first year of life. It's important to avoid pressing into their soft spots, as it could cause damage to their skull or brain.

Despite popular belief, there is no evidence to suggest that applying pressure on your baby's head during a massage will make it round. Too much pressure can make him uncomfortable, or even hurt him. Some mothers use a horseshoe-shaped pillow in the hope that it will help make their baby's head round.

The fontanelles should feel firm and very slightly concave to the touch. A noticeably sunken fontanelle is a sign that the infant does not have enough fluid in its body. The sutures or anatomical lines where the bony plates of the skull join together can be easily felt in the newborn infant.

A baby's body has about 300 bones at birth. These eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have. Some of a baby's bones are made entirely of a special material called cartilage (say: KAR-tel-ij). Other bones in a baby are partly made of cartilage.

The protein, called Noggin, inhibits fusion of bony plates in the skull until developmentally appropriate. According to Michael Longaker, MD, about 1 in 2000 children have growth plates in their skulls that fuse prematurely.

Which bones get fused together after birth?

Each temporal bone at birth consists of two parts: the petromastoid and the squama (to which the tympanic ring has united shortly before birth). Around the first year the petromastoid and squama fuse into a single unit.

The anterior fontanel is covered by a tough membrane, so simply touching the “soft spot” will not hurt your infant's head or endanger your baby in any way.

Many parents have felt the same sense of panic. But most of the time, if a baby hits her head, she'll be unharmed, except for perhaps a bruise or goose egg that can be treated with infant Tylenol and an ice pack.

Typically, fontanelles close by the time your baby is 18 months old. The posterior fontanelle usually closes first — within 2 months of birth. The anterior fontanelle closes between 7 and 18 months. If you feel your baby's fontanelles are closing too soon or haven't closed in 18 months, consult your pediatrician.

Assessment of the Newborn

When assessing the fontanelles, use the flat pads of your fingers to palpate (gently feel) the surface of the head. Ensure you make note of any retraction or bulging, as the normal fontanelle feels firm and flat (not sunken or bulging).

Your baby's fontanelles should look flat against their head. They should not look swollen and bulging or sunken down into your child's skull. When you gently run your fingers over the top of your child's head, the soft spot should feel soft and flat with a slight downward curve.

Your baby's fontanelle should feel soft and flat. If you softly touch a fontanelle, you may at times feel a slight pulsation — this is normal. If a fontanelle changes, or feels different to how it usually does, show your doctor or midwife as it may be a sign that your baby's health may need to be checked.

Most babies will begin laughing around month three or four. However, don't be concerned if your baby isn't laughing at four months. Each baby is different. Some babies will laugh earlier than others.

In your baby's first few months of life, the faces they see most often are yours! Given this exposure, your baby learns to recognize your face. Studies have shown that by three months of age your baby can discriminate between their mother's face and the face of a stranger.

In these months, your baby might say "mama" or "dada" for the first time, and may communicate using body language, like waving bye-bye and shaking their head.

Do babies with craniosynostosis have trouble sleeping?

Current sleep problems were reported in 19% of patients with single-suture craniosynostosis and 14% of controls (adjusted odds ratio = 1.6; 95% CI, 0.9 to 2.8). Ever having sleep problems was reported in 25% and 23% of cases and controls, respectively (adjusted odds ratio = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.7 to 1.9).

Most children who have surgery early live healthy lives. But long-term complications may occur. A child with craniosynostosis needs regular medical checkups to make sure that the skull, facial bones, and brain are developing normally.

Craniosynostosis can occur by itself or as a part of certain craniofacial (head and facial) syndromes. If left untreated, craniosynostosis can lead to serious complications, including: Head deformity, possibly severe and permanent. Increased pressure on the brain.

Craniosynostosis is a birth defect in which one or more sutures on a baby's head closes earlier than usual. The skull of an infant or young child is made up of bony plates that are still growing. The borders at which these plates intersect are called sutures or suture lines.

Craniosynostosis is a primarily morphological problem and has been known as a possible disorder that can result in functional disability.

Sagittal (scaphocephaly).

Premature fusion of the sagittal suture that runs from the front to the back at the top of the skull forces the head to grow long and narrow. This head shape is called scaphocephaly. Sagittal craniosynostosis is the most common type of craniosynostosis.

A computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of your baby's skull can show whether any sutures have fused. Cranial ultrasound imaging may be used. Fused sutures can be identified by their absence — because they're invisible once fused — or by a ridging of the suture line.

Total costs were $31,314 for open and $18,081 for endoscope-assisted surgeries. Outcomes were positive for both cohorts, with neither experiencing major surgical complications or surgical revisions.

In pediatric craniosynostosis, an infant's skull bones fuse too early, which can restrict brain growth and result in an abnormal head shape. This abnormal shape is often how parents are first alerted to something amiss. Craniosynostosis is often diagnosed in very young infants, and doctors may recommend surgery.

It can take 9-18 months before a baby's skull is fully formed. During this time some babies develop positional plagiocephaly. This means that there is a flat area on the back or side of the head. Positional plagiocephaly does not affect brain growth or development; it is purely a shape issue.

When should I be concerned about my baby's head circumference?

Technically, your child's head circumference (measurement around the widest part of their head) is greater than the 97th percentile. This means their head is larger than 97% of children of the same age and sex. Macrocephaly can be a sign of a condition that requires treatment.

Frontal bossing occurs when a baby has a protruding forehead. A child with frontal bossing may also have a heavy brow ridge. This condition usually is a sign of an underlying genetic disorder or birth defect. While frontal bossing cannot be treated, the underlying condition that causes it can usually be managed.

The soft spot on the back of the head closes by age 3 months. The larger soft spot in front can close as early as 4 months and as late as 24 months; most are closed by 18 months.

The soft spot on the back (the posterior fontanelle) closes sooner than the one on the front (the anterior fontanelle). This typically occurs by three months of age. The anterior fontanelle takes a little longer to close and is typically gone by the time a baby is 9-18 months old.

a dent or bulging soft spot on the skull. excessive bruising and/or swelling. vomiting more than once. unusual sleepiness and/or difficulty staying alert.

These soft spots are spaces between the bones of the skull where bone formation isn't complete. This allows the skull to be molded during birth. The smaller spot at the back usually closes by age 2 to 3 months. The larger spot toward the front often closes around age 18 months.

For both the males and females, the general trend of the full skull thickness was a slight increase with age.

Since most bones in the body stop growing after puberty, experts assumed the human skull stopped growing then too. But using CT scans of 100 men and women, the researchers discovered that the bones in the human skull continue to grow as people age. The forehead moves forward while the cheek bones move backward.

Thus the bone thickness of the cranial fornix undergoes the pubertal spurt of growth, when the maximal rate in increasing thickness is noted between 15 and 16 years of age. This phenomenon should determine certain increase in dimentions of the skull during the pubertal period.

Using 3-D scans, scientists analyzed the faces of healthy men and women of different ages. They found that as we age, bones in the skull shrink, sink and slide around.

Which race has the thickest skull?

The skull thickness in Black and White adults of both sexes was studied in Rhodesia by two methods. White women have the thickest, and White men the thinnest skulls.

Craniometaphyseal dysplasia is a rare condition characterized by thickening (overgrowth) of bones in the skull (cranium) and abnormalities in a region at the end of long bones known as the metaphysis. The abnormal bone growth continues throughout life.

This is called a positional skull deformity. For about 20% of babies, a positional skull deformity occurs when they are in the womb or in the birth canal. More often, it happens in the first 4 to 12 weeks of life.

Technically, your child's head circumference (measurement around the widest part of their head) is greater than the 97th percentile. This means their head is larger than 97% of children of the same age and sex. Macrocephaly can be a sign of a condition that requires treatment.

Although head shape continues to improve, children with a history of skull deformation in infancy continue to exhibit measureable cranial flattening and asymmetry through age 36 months.

Two genes inherited from our evolutionary cousins may affect skull shape and brain size even today.

Clues in the Cranium

The bones that enclose the brain grow together during childhood along lines called cranial sutures. During adulthood, bone "remodeling" may gradually erase these lines, at variable rates. Closure of cranial sutures gives general information about a person's age.