Early interventions beyond
WHOLE-BODY DENTISTRY
Biological Dentists Get to the Root Causes by Linda Sechrist
W
hile the majority of individuals may consider oral health as separate from overall health, the
mouth and body are very much connected. Until the late 1970s, this was rarely acknowl- edged outside a circle of dental professionals, physicians and allied researchers involved in organizations such as the International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medi- cine, Te International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) and the Holistic Dental Association. Dentists associated with these groups
favor the use of preventive measures, a minimally invasive approach to dentistry and biocompatibility testing for all materi-
als used in oral health procedures. Teir individualized methodology and systemic health method of addressing the root causes frequently includes nutrition and lifestyle, providing patients with a less-toxic and safe experience for their overall health. An important newcomer to this area
is the myofunctional treatment system used in orthodontics for children 5 to 15 years old. Research in this field now points to the real causes for crooked teeth and in- correct jaw development—mouth breath- ing, tongue thrusting, reverse swallowing and thumb sucking (known as incorrect myofunctional habits), in addition to aller- gies, asthma and an open-mouth posture.
conventional solutions Jean Marie Nordin, DDS, co-owner of Groton Wellness, in Groton, Massachu- setts, added pediatric orthodontics to her practice aſter learning about early innova- tive interventions from her mentor, James Bronson, DDS, of Bronson Family Dentist- ry, in McLean, Virginia. “Our program for children involves a comprehensive evalua- tion on the first visit. We look at breathing habits, the way their tongue swallows and the function of the muscles. In medicine, we believe that form follows function; therefore, we observe what muscles around the mouth actually do when the individual swallows. It is really the way you breathe and swallow, as well as how the muscles work, that plays a significant role in where teeth end up and line up,” explains Nordin, who identifies problems in patients be- tween 2 and 5 years old. “We can start them on a removable
Myobrace mouthpiece that can be worn at night and an hour during the day. Te mouthpiece begins to change the way the tongue works, waking it up and strength- ening it. If a child is born with the physi- ological problem of a tongue-tie that can’t swallow properly or get up onto the palate, that tongue will never expand the palate like it’s supposed to,” she clarifies. For chronic mouth-breathers, the
face grows long and narrow, which in the long term can cause cardiovascular disease. In the short term, it can cause anxiety, because the nitric oxide receptors located in the nose signal arteries and veins to relax. “A cardiologist knows about this phe- nomenon,” says Nordin, who notes that the dysfunction can be unwound before a child turns 9. While early interceptive myofunc-
tional orthodontic treatment methods such as Myobrace appliances have proven effective for children, there’s also good news for adults that suffer from breathing problems which cause sleep apnea, says
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