The book JAWS: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic tells us that we are the only animal species that has crooked teeth and narrow jaws. In fact, we are not completely alone; our domestic pets often have crooked teeth as well. But their wild cousins do not have the same problem. This pinpoints that the problem has something with the human lifestyle to do.
Stone Age Skulls Have Perfect Teeth
The skull in the picture is a few thousand years old. Notice the even and straight teeth. The skull belonged to a prehistoric person who lived long before dentists, braces, and toothbrushes. Even so, the jaw look good and all the teeth are in the right place. This is what almost all well-preserved skulls from the Stone Age look like.
How To Get Nice Teeth Naturally
How come many people today have crooked teeth? No genetic change in the last 10,000 years can explain the matter. In principle, everyone is born with DNA to develop normal teeth, jaws, and tongue. The jaws continue to grow after birth to make room for all the teeth and make sure they fit together. But the right genes are not enough, you also have to grow up in a good environment. This seems to be where the problems arise.
We Chew Too Little
Most of us know that the Paleolithic diet is healthy – more protein and fewer carbohydrates. But why did no one mention the important role of chewing? To avoid a narrow jaw, you should chew hard. Our ancestors chewed about half the days before they invented cooking. The mechanical forces that chewing entails help the jaws grow to the right size and shape. Chewing also makes the opposite jaws fit together.
Why Do the Teeth Become Crooked?
Skeletal studies show that the jaws have become smaller and narrower since the Stone Age. Both the upper and lower jaws change during the development process. We have come to the space age with our stone-age genes that were developed to use the jaws as tools. The environment and food have changed drastically. The probable explanation for crooked teeth is changed chewing habits. Softer and more easily chewed food means that the jaws are not widened enough. The teeth simply do not fit in the narrow and undeveloped jaws. They fight for space and some teeth end up across or in the palate.
What Problems Can Arise?
Crooked teeth are considered a beauty problem, but there are effects of poor chewing that are significantly worse. Narrow jaws mean narrow airways. Narrow airways make it harder to breathe. To get air, we breathe through the mouth instead of the nose. In addition, the tongue does not really fit in the narrow oral cavity. The tongue is then pushed back. Reduced chewing also leads to weakened tongue muscles. Overall, our modern lifestyle results in poorer breathing, especially at night. In the worst case, oxygen uptake is completely blocked by obstructive sleep apnea, OSA.
How To Get Even Teeth by Chewing
JAWPEER is made to train the chewing ability. The jaws are plastic. The wisdom teeth are made to function as spare teeth. If we lose a molar, the wisdom tooth slowly moves forward and replaces it. Thanks to the fact that the jaws are plastic, we can change them in adulthood. It is called Mewing and has become a major international oral trend. Mewing builds, in addition to diligent and hard chewing training, on other good habits. This means breathing through the nose, keeping the tongue against the upper palate, and sleeping with the mouth closed. JAWPEER is perfect for mewing. In the long run, it can give both better breathing and smoother teeth.