Written by Dan Mannikko DDS |
At first glance, teeth really do seem simple. We use them to chew and we use them to smile, and if you brush them once in a while, you may not think too much of them until they hurt. What many people fail to realize, though, is that in oral health, pain is often a symptom signaling the later stages of disease. For example, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, you can have silent, irreversible damage to the body and heart, but you feel no pain until it is too late. The same is true for dental health, and that’s why dentists recommend regular visits to catch little things before they become big ones. Science has brought to light more interesting facts about dental health in recent years, some of which are commonly known and some not.
Poor Gum Health
If you have bleeding gums that are infected with bacteria, you have an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and tooth loss.
Poor Bite
An estimated 80 percent of the population suffers from an unbalanced bite, which has been shown to be a factor in physical stress on the body and posture problems that affect every muscle in the body. An unbalanced bite can also affect whole body balance, the middle ear, the airway, longevity of your teeth, the health of your gums, and migraines and other types of headaches.
Poor Airway
Intertwined with an unbalanced bite (which can cause the face and jaws to develop in ways that negatively impact breathing) we often see symptoms including snoring, sleep apnea and related low oxygen levels in the blood. Airway problems have been implicated in an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, cancer, diabetes, and a shortened life span by as much as 20 percent, learning difficulties, attention span/ability to focus, and the overall quality of sleep. In sum, airway problems create tremendous strain on the body and affect the emotional side of a person, too.
From a neuromuscular dentistry standpoint, the teeth are the building blocks of good health. Most people start with 32 adult teeth. When the “wisdom teeth” are taken out, many people lose these four teeth because of lack of room or small jaws. Some may believe that losing a few teeth is no big deal because they have a couple dozen “others” and that “no one will notice anyway because the removed teeth are in the back,” and so on.
The problem is, if we think of a stack of blocks ten blocks high, they are pretty stable as long as they are placed solidly one on top of the other. If we alter the top block to overhang the others, we lose stability of all the blocks. To improve the stability of the group, we slightly move the others to support the top block that was initially moved out of place. Other blocks take more stress because of their altered position. In the human body, the head is the top block. Keeping the head (eyes) level with the horizon is paramount for our survival (balance). Additionally, when our nose is partially or completely obstructed, we will alter our head position (top block) forward, rolling the head back to open the oral airway to maximize the amount of air we can bring in.
Mouth breathing alters the growth and development of the face/jaws due to altered tongue posture from the mouth being open. As the tongue misses its place to direct growth of the face in a forward direction, the upper/lower jaws and nose fall down and back giving us longer faces, smaller airways, detruded jaws, crowded teeth and TMJ — all driven by the need for air. Fortunately, recent advances in neuromuscular dentistry allow us to diagnose and treat many root causes of these symptoms in ways we couldn’t do in the past. The bottom line is, teeth are important; therefore, well cared for teeth and a balanced bite are vital to your overall health.
References:
1. Neuromuscular Dental Diagnosis and Treatment, Jankelson
2. Facial Characteristics of Children who breathe through the mouth, Bresolin, Pediatrics
53(5): 1984
3. IAO meeting, Stack Brendan M.D. April 2007
4. Gozal D., M.D. University of Louisville
For more info, contact Dan Mannikko, DDS at (775) 825-8366.
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