Have you ever wondered why almost every kid on the planet these days seems to have a palatal expander and braces? Could there possibly have been a “design flaw” somewhere along the line that resulted in most of us being born with far too little space to fit the number of teeth that would eventually erupt? Were we really meant to have a mouth full of crooked teeth, arranged haphazardly like wrecked cars piled in a junk yard? Was it always this way or is this something new? According to fascinating research in the field of epigenetics, it’s really our modern diet that has been quietly lurking in the background as thousands of both children and adults continue to storm the doors of orthodontic offices around the country in hopes of that perfect smile. Smoothies, yogurt, fast-food and the like have stolen the modern-day spotlight from the hard, crunchy root vegetables, nuts and jerky of our ancestors, and the effects have slowly trickled down through our craniofacial development like leaking water behind a bathroom wall. Epigenetics doesn’t suggest that our genes have changed over time, but instead, that our modern lifestyle has changed how these genes are expressed.

Ideally, a strong, muscular tongue properly resting up against the palate, as it should, serves as a natural expander for your upper jaw during the years of craniofacial growth. The tongue’s constant pressure against the palate stimulates the bone cells to grow, slowly expanding the bones of the upper jaw over time. So, why isn’t this happening? Oral muscles, just like those elsewhere in the body, are not exempt from the laws of nature and are strengthened by frequent and vigorous use. Unfortunately, the soft foods common in our modern diet require little, if any, chewing and are, to the tongue, like doing a bicep curl with a feather! With nothing stimulating the tongue muscles to work, the tongue ends up like a flaccid pancake in the floor of the mouth, thereby preventing this natural process of expansion.  As a result, high, narrow palates and narrow dental arches are commonplace, with little room for the 32 permanent teeth that will eventually crowd in like kids on a school bus, forced to take either a “window” or an “aisle” seat, wherever there is room. The mish-mash of crowded teeth is usually the driving force that leads one to seek an orthodontic consult, and palatal expanders are often necessary to complete the job that the tongue was unable to do to make room for all the teeth, followed by braces to force the unruly mob of teeth into some sense of order.

Remember that old Skeleton Dance song, “The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone, the leg bone’s connected to the knee bone, the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone….?” Yeah, well, this holds true in the mouth too. Everything in the mouth is intricately connected. That primarily soft food diet that led to a weak, low resting tongue and a high, narrow palate will likely lead to mouth breathing, tongue thrust, jaw pain, speech problems, obstructive sleep apnea and relapsed orthodontics too. They are all connected (more on that in future posts!), and that’s where I come in as a myofunctional therapist. I help you to strengthen and tone the muscles of your tongue, cheeks, lips and throat so that they can do the jobs they were designed to do and function as they should- before, during and after orthodontic treatment. Now, if you would please, pass me that bag of raw carrots-I’ve got exercising to do!