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We can also convince baby food manufacturers to develop foods that are nutritious and safe, and yet require a child to chew a lot. We can make sure schools have chairs that produce the right kind of posture in kids because that seems to affect the oral posture as well. It’s a place where society, if it pays attention, can do a lot.We know a smaller jaw makes you more susceptible to sleep apnea and so it relates to an area Robert Sapolsky has pioneered: the importance of stress. We now know clearly that having your sleep interrupted is a big stressor and can lead to greater susceptibility to infections and diseases. So when Sandra was looking for the right way to treat her eldest child without extracting teeth, she first turned to “myofunctional therapy” as a rising and popular form of treatment. The idea was that how you chew, how you swallow, and how you position your tongue, repeated thousands of times a day for your entire life, would result in changes to your teeth and your smile. Imagine if every time you swallowed you pushed your teeth out a bit; eventually your teeth should move outward. Sandra enrolled her preteen children in myofunctional therapy and marched them through the exercises. At the same time, she kept studying the literature and investigating more intensely, while keeping a close eye on the kids’ development. I came into reading this book well aware that high palates, tongue ties, and jaw malocclusion were very much less than ideal for your posture, gut and more, but not fully knowing what to do next, or how to prevent the future generations from needing as much work as I do. While many may read this and believe it’s about “being attractive” (there are indeed references to mouth breathing and a recessed jaw being unattractive, and a wider jaw with better formation being a more attractive alternative), it is inevitably about function and how a poor jaw posture leads to deterioration of other skills, postures, and overall bodily function. It’s about health. Buccolabial (oral) group: Levator labii superioris, levator labii superioris alaeque nasi, risorius, levator anguli oris, zygomaticus major, zygomaticus minor, depressor labii inferioris, depressor anguli oris, mentalis, orbicularis oris and buccinator muscles. The frontal region, also known as the forehead, is the most superior region of the face that spreads from the hairline to the eyebrows. It is composed mainly of the frontal bone and the overlying muscles including the procerus, occipitofrontalis, depressor supercilii and corrugator supercillii muscles. The muscles are covered by several fat pads (central, middle and lateral) and skin.

You rely on anecdotal evidence and some clinical outcomes and are upfront about the level of speculation in the book. Why are you talking about this now instead of waiting for more robust studies? The hidden epidemic is that many people's jaws and faces aren't developing properly. There are lots of potential reasons why - anything that causes a person to have improper oral posture (tongue resting on the roof of the mouth, teeth slightly touching, mouth closed). Together, this proper posture gives the 'scaffolding' required to keep your dental arches wide enough for the tongue to fit, and for the bone of the upper jaw to grow upward and out. When proper oral posture is not in place, the bone grows inward and down, leading to all kinds of health problems. The main being restricted breathing, especially during sleep (sleep apnea), which itself leads to poor cognitive function, daytime tiredness, behaviour issues, anxiety/depression, etc. Poor jaw development also leads to crowded teeth (why more and more people need braces these days), sunken chin or elongated face, etc. The stakes aren’t as high as with something like climate disruption, which could lead to billions of premature deaths. But Jaws describes an epidemic that is causing a lot of expense – think braces – and misery. Many people’s lives could be improved if it were dealt with. It’s also a public health problem where some of the power to avoid it rests in your own hands. It is also a scathing criticism of current dental and orthopedic practices, which either fail to identify the problem, or make it worse in some cases (braces can have the effect of pushing the teeth further inwards, after molars and wisdom teeth have been removed to make room). Research is thin, however, and the solutions to these problems aren't huge cash cows. So it is likely to never become recognized as the public health epidemic that it is, and it will likely not result in any societal changes. Too bad, because it could prevent lots of more costly diseases and health issues later in life, saving the public health system, and also giving people a higher quality of life.During the development of the fetus, the external human face starts to develop during the fourth through sixth weeks. The face derives from the first two pharyngeal arches, neural crest cells, frontonasal prominence, medial nasal prominence, oropharyngeal membrane, and lateral nasal prominence. During week four of development, the oropharyngeal membrane breaks down to create the oral cavity. The frontonasal prominencesdevelop into the forehead, bridge of the nose, medial nasal prominences, and lateral nasal prominences. The medial nasal prominences will further develop into the primary palate, philtrum, upper four incisors, and parts of the jaw. The lateral nasal prominences develop into the sides of the nose. The first pharyngeal arch will form the cheeks, lateral upper lip, lateral upper jaw, and secondary palate. The second pharyngeal arch will form the lower lip and jaw. All these structures form bilaterally and migrate toward the midline before fusing. [2] From birth, encourage children to keep their mouths closed when they’re not eating or talking. This will support proper oral posture, which is lips closed, tongue on the palate, and teeth lightly touching. And wean to tough foods that require chewing, like they did in the days of hunter-gatherers. The oral region surrounds the lips, the most prominent structures in the inferior part of the face. They are divided into two parts: the upper lip and lower lip. The upper lip is associated with the maxilla, while the lower lip, with the mandible. The lips are surrounded mainly by the orbicularis oris muscle which functions in altering the shape of the lips when we speak or eat. The other muscles that facilitate the movements of lips are the risorius, mentalis, depressor labii inferioris, and depressor anguli oris muscles. The movements of the lips allow for actions such as speech, eating, and kissing. As a book, I want to give it 1-2 stars. This does not invalidate the subject's critical importance in long-term health and childhood development/habit formation. Snoring, mouth breathing, soft/processed diet, among other signs may be worth observing and discussing with a health provider (without being a hypochondriac about it). As early as 1894, a Canadian dentist named Weston Price became interested in the relationship between nutrition, dental health, and overall health. Over time, this interest became something of an obsession. In the 1930’s, he went on to investigate his theories about diet and dental health by studying groups of people around the world who were still eating the traditional diets of their area.

Nowhere in the book does Kahn give any proof of this preposterous statement, or even much practical advice on how to implement this diet of hard, gritty food for small children. It’s better to give a child a slice of pear (this is what she calls a hard food!) than one of those squeezable fruit pouches which do not require any chewing, she says. Of course that is true, but neither of these foods will supply the nutrients a growing child needs to have strong bones and straight teeth.When I began to apply the Starecta method I noticed right away that some dimples were appearing on my cheeks and that my muscles of mastication were slowly developing. Finally my jaw was strengthened and expanded. Children need to chew! It’s a fundamental part of growing up and is key to optimal cranial and facial development.