Epigenetic Orthodontics: Building Better Bites, Faces and Health?

Wow, I didn't mean for so much time to elapse since the last post, but I've been putting a lot of time and effort into this one and I'm really enthused to bring you this information. This is a bit of a continuation of the theme presented in my last post. In it, I touched on how pre- and postnatal nutrition affects our dental and facial development.
I've recently done some research into the surprising and far-reaching effects of poor jaw development, as well as what can be done once you already have poorly formed facial bone and jaw/dental structure and it's been fascinating. I've included the interviews that I listened to so you can also listen to the pioneers in this innovative field.
I'm not going to get into the nutritional aspects of what creates poor development because so many others have already covered that subject. In this post, we will deal with the side effects of poor bone structure and how we can correct it.

For a really thorough look into the effects of nutrition on our teeth and facial structure, check out Stephan at Whole Health Source's excellent 9 part series.

You can also read Weston Price's classic "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" online for free.




Far-reaching effects:

While it might seem like a chiefly cosmetic concern to have crowded teeth or an overbite, it goes so much deeper: a poorly formed maxilla (upper jaw) also affects the eye sockets that support and shape the eyeball (leading to things like astigmatism and near-sighteness), it supports the nasal airways, leading to deviated septums, asymmetrical noses, snoring and sleep apnea (a contributing factor in childhood ADHD, by the way). What if so many sleep issues are really due to our poorly formed airways? The implications are sort of staggering.

Here's a picture of the facial bone structure. Note how the maxilla (in green) supports the underside of the eye sockets, as well as the floor of the nasal passages. It also forms a good portion of the cheekbones. Do you know anyone with droopy lower eyelids and visible whites under their irises? They have an underdeveloped maxilla. Someone with a nose that leans to one side? One side of their maxilla is less developed than the other. Someone with flat, saggy cheeks? Again, an underdeveloped maxilla.



So, what about an underdeveloped lower jaw? Compromised airways and/or a tongue that rests too far back in the mouth from an underdeveloped lower jaw can lead to a forward head posture, which helps to open the airways. However, this can throw off the alignment of the spine (and whole body), leading to headaches, bruxism (teeth grinding), neck/shoulder tension, lower back pain and fatigue, to name just a few things. Also, when your bite doesn't line up properly, the teeth can be subject to uneven patterns of wear.

The forward head posture also causes a tendency of the Sympathetic Nervous System to be overactive. You've probably heard of "Fight or Flight"- the state in which you're on high alert and are secreting stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. The posture of your neck can keep you in this state (here's an article detailing Fight or Flight and how to deal with it).

In an interview I listened to with Dr. Richard Quinttus, who practices Oral Systemic Balance (OSB) therapy, Dr. Quinntus talked about how blocked airways and poor tongue posture can trigger excess adrenaline. He says that many people who feel the need to run to get the famed "runner's high" may actually have high adrenaline and airway issues (the running helps to open their airways and forces them to intake more oxygen), as well as poor sleep quality.

When the mandible (lower law) is underdeveloped, TMD can be an issue, as well as headaches. The development of the facial support structure also affects hearing. One of the most striking examples of how a malpositioned temporomandibular joint can affect someone is demonstrated in the work of Dr. Brendan Stack, D.D.S. who has found a remarkable way to treat Tourette's Syndrome by repositioning the jaw!

As you can see, it goes so far beyond just the aesthetic aspects. So, what can we do if we have facial structure that didn't exactly develop to its full genetic potential? This is where Epigenetic Orthodontics comes in.




Epigenetic and Functional Orthodontics

Epigenetics: In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in phenotype (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence, hence the name epi- (Greek: επί- over, above) -genetics.

Epigenetic Orthodontics (also called Functional Orthodontics) is a specialized field in dentistry dealing with correcting the narrow palates, poorly aligned bites, facial asymmetries and small jaws that so many of us are afflicted with (it can also deal with crooked teeth). It takes a look at where our development went wrong and looks at the dental structure in the context of the whole face and how it all functions, rather than just looking at whether or not the teeth are straight.
The objective is to allow the craniofacial structure to develop in the way they would have, had our gene expression been optimized. Epigenetic Orthodontics stimulates a person’s genes to correct and straighten the teeth without the use of force brackets, affecting craniofacial, dental, and airway structures so that natural developmental processes are evoked by the use of orthodontic appliances. In simpler terms, the appliance makes room by causing new palate and jaw growth and the teeth naturally move into a healthy position.

Unlike traditional orthodontics, where the main objective is to simply straighten the teeth at all costs, (how many of you had teeth yanked before you got your braces?), it addresses the foundational issues. It's like the difference between "flipping" a house by doing cosmetic fixes and doing a real renovation, addressing the structural issues. Other issues with traditional orthodontics are that the teeth often shift and somewhat revert back to their original positions, unless a retainer is worn and the shape of the face and profile can be negatively affected due to extractions and pulling the upper row of teeth back, creating a pinched appearance or a receded chin.

Epigenetic Orthodontics uses removable palate expanding retainers, usually worn at night, that use light biological force, making it a much more comfortable process. It's not only more comfortable, it's also safer, as high forces from traditional orthodontic palate wideners can exert unhealthy pressure on the cranial bones (even affecting mental function in children.) There's no way you can put s much pressure on the cranial bones and NOT affect brain signaling.

The result of treatment is horizontal bone tissue growth resulting in better facial symmetry, nicer bone structure, healthy orthodontic alignment, better airways and better TMJ alignment.

Identical twins. The one on the right received palate expanding treatment and the other did not. Note the drastic difference in facial structure! The twin on the right has a much wider face- an example of proper horizontal growth, rather than the vertical facial growth that is so common these days.




Getting Treatment
[Edit: you can find lists of practitioners on each of the treatment option sites listed below.]

It used to be thought that you could only change the palate during childhood, but it's now been demonstrated that the palate can be expanded in adults even into their 70's, so there's hope for all of us. There are a number of different orthodontic appliances being used to accomplish adult palate expansion:

The pioneer in this still relatively obscure (at least in the U.S.) field is Dr. G. Dave Singh, DDS, creator of the DNA Appliance. You can listen to an interview with Dr. Singh. The DNA Appliance is worn while sleeping and works with the circadian rhythms (night is when most of the body's repair goes on).


Another appliance also worn only at night is the Homeoblock appliance, developed by Dr. Theodore Belfor, DDS. This was used in the treatment of the young man pictured at the top of this article (this change is after only 6 months of treatment). You can see that his facial structure became wider- that's what horizontal growth looks like. There are some fascinating videos on the website of people's faces morphing from "before" to "after" and some of the facial changes are absolutely amazing. Definitely check them out!

Here's a woman after 6 months of treatment. You can see the improvement in symmetry- the right side of her face is now less drooping and she almost looks like she's had a subtle lower face lift. Her cheekbones are slightly more prominent and less flat (and no, it's not just because she's wearing makeup in the second shot):

More effects on symmetry:

After 4 months of treatment:

There are many skeptics in the dental community claiming that Functional Orthodontics don't actually change the bone structure, but when you look at the cases presented in the Facial Development Newsletter, complete with computer imaging of areas of bone growth and expansion, it's pretty clear that they do indeed change bone structure and increase bone growth.



A slightly different type of orthodontic appliance that is less bulky, but worn continuously is Advanced Lightwire Functionals (ALF), developed by Dr. Darick Nordstrom.
Dr. Raymond Silkmanm, DDS, who uses ALF appliances, did a fantastic 2 part interview that I highly recommend listening to. Here's Part 1 and Part 2.


What about treating children?

Early Orthotropic growth guiding treatment during childhood, when development issues first surface, is ideal, but treatment can be done at any point during childhood, usually avoiding the need for braces. There are early signs that parents can look for to determine if their child's jaw and bite are developing improperly.

Here's an example of Orthotropic-guided growth:

So, I've given you an overview of the effects of poor jaw development and some of the treatment options. I hope to try this technology out for myself one day, as I could definitely benefit from bite correction and better airway development (and, let's be honest, more sculpted cheekbones sound pretty good, too!)
There's no one currently in my area (I'd have to go to Memphis or Knoxville) but in a few days, Dr. Belfor is speaking at the Sacro Occipital Technique Organization's annual conference, right here in Nashville. Fingers crossed that some local dentists attend his lecture:-)

-Erin

Building Better Babies (or, Things I Wish My Mom Had Known)

This is a really atypical post for me since I usually have my posts (sort of) planned, but I just finished reading this excellent article from The Healthy Skeptic (one of my favorite websites!) called Health Begins In The Womb And Before. I couldn't resist doing a post on the topic since I find it so fascinating! I'm loving reading articles about nutrition and gene expression, esp. relating to fertility and pre/post natal nutrition. Plus, I have a lot of friends who have recently had babies, so it's sort of been in my face, lately.
The Healthy Skeptic also did a great podcast on pre/postnatal and breastfeeding nutrition recently.

I'm not planning on having children yet, but if/when I do, I want to be as prepared as possible and I'm relieved to have this info BEFORE the fact since I feel like I need all the help I can get. I feel like I got the short end of the stick, genetically speaking, and I hope to do better for my offspring.

Let me tell you a little more about why I'm so obsessed with fertility/prenatal nutrition:

I was born right outside of Detroit (not the most pristine area) and both of my parents worked in the auto industry at the time (can you say "chemical exposure"!?) My mom was a smoker when I was conceived. Thank goodness she stopped as soon as she found out she was pregnant with me! She also worked at a factory installing kitchens in custom vans up until her sixth month of pregnancy (can you say carpet glue and particle board fumes? Lots of healthy formaldehyde and maybe some flame retardants there!) My dad worked on the line at Chrysler and he smoked, too. So, both of them were probably fairly toxic at the time. Not ideal for making a super healthy baby.

I was born very jaundiced and spent the first few days of my life in an incubator. I'm pretty sure the jaundice was due to low vit. D levels (fairly common in newborns) but I suspect that the low D was likely due to Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphism, which is linked to Hashimoto's (which I, as well as my mom and sis, have) and plays a big role in the body's ability to manufacture and absorb vit. D and use it to modulate the immune system via Regulatory T Cell production.

I was also born with a rare congenital vascular disorder called Klippel-Trenauany Syndrome (KTS). In most cases, KTS is not thought to be genetic. I'm the only one in my family with it.
In my case, my left leg has twice as many veins as my right and has a "birthmark" of spider veins running the outer length. As far as severity goes, I'm on the low end of the spectrum, thank goodness, because KTS can be debilitating, resulting in amputations in the worst cases. That's not to say that it's been a walk in the park- I had to have major knee surgery when I was 14 to remove large vascular clusters that were backing up with blood and causing my leg so much pain that I couldn't walk.

It puts me at higher risk for blood clots/embolisms and also puts me into the "high risk pregnancy" category. Hormone surges like those during pregnancy and puberty increase symptoms for some reason. My symptoms were the absolute worst from age 11-14 when I went through my major growth spurts (I pretty much maxed out, height-wise by age 14) and then again at 26 when I freakishly grew an inch (I was already 5'8"! WTF?) and my leg flared up severely for a week. In fact, I'm having a minor flare up of symptoms right now and when I wake up in the morning, I have to gingerly hoist my leg out of the bed to get on my feet. It will pass probably within a week, though I have no idea what triggers the smaller flare-ups. I better not be growing again;-)

So, you can see why I'm fascinated with gene expression. Why did mine go so wrong? What can I do to help prevent whacked out gene expression in my offspring? What I can do is eat as conscientiously as possible, consuming foods that support fertility and fetal development. Even if I choose not to have children, these foods are going to promote health. Another thing: my mom didn't plan me, so she wasn't prepared. A surprisingly high number of pregnancies, even among married couples, are not planned, which is even more reason to have your diet dialed in, just in case (I know a girl who happened to be in that teeny failure rate sliver for the Pill and now she has a lovely kindergartener!)


I recently listened to a couple of podcast interviews with my new hero, Dr. Cate Shanahan, author of Deep Nutrition (which is the next book I'm getting). Dr. Cate studied epigenetics, as well as ethnobotanical medicine (a woman after my own heart!) and traditional diets. She talks about what she calls genetic momentum and genetic wealth. George Burns is a good example of genetic momentum- someone whose strong genetics let them live to a ripe old age despite some, um, less than healthy habits. George may also have possessed some of the longevity genes that have been identified among certain European Jewish populations.

Genetic wealth is proper physical development: things like facial symmetry, good fertility, delayed aging, proportional limbs, good dental development, etc. Grace Kelly and Daniel Dae Kim (of Lost), with their symmetrical, well developed bone structure, are good examples of genetic wealth (or should I say, genetic jackpots?)

Dr. Cate subscribes to Weston Price's observations about human development. She even talks about how having children close together can shortchange the second child genetically, because it takes the mother's body several years to fully rebuild nutrient stores after pregnancy. How interesting is that?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the first month after giving birth (the "postnatal confinement") is considered a very important time to actively rebuild strength, blood quality, qi and nutrient stores by feeding the new mother special foods. Black Chicken soup is one of those foods. I recently made a friend of mine a big batch with extra herbs like nettles, goji, dong quai and fennel to eat after giving birth.

Here are Dr. Cate's podcasts with Underground Wellness:
#1
#2


Even though we don't have complete control of everything that goes on with our bodies and genes or how our children turn out, it's cool to think that if I eat right, maybe my kid won't get my overbite and need braces. Maybe they will have a more symmetrical (and thus more photogenic) face than me. Maybe they won't have to spend the first three days of their life in an incubator. They're likely to be tall (my siblings and I all have the "tall" gene from our Dutch side and my husband is also tall) and I'm pretty sure they'll have my chin dimple, because NO ONE in my family escapes that trait (and I wouldn't want them to!)

-Erin

Trout with Bacon Green Beans and Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Here's a little something I made the other night. It was easy but I felt like a chef after I had plated it. That's a fun feeling;) It was a big hit with my husband and the picture I posted on PIP's Facebook page sure generated a lot of comments, so I thought I'd better share the recipe. I cooked most of it in my big cast iron pan, so there wasn't much cleanup. Score!

Ingredients:
trout fillets with skins (descaled)
cauliflower
green beans
bacon
cream
sour cream (optional)
garlic granules (not powder)

For the green beans/bacon (steam cauliflower until tender at the same time):
I cooked the bacon and green beans simultaneously in the same pan. I think haricots are especially fun to use (and they cook faster). Cook green beans until a little crispy and sprinkle them with a bit of garlic granules before they finish cooking. Chop the cooked bacon. Set aside.

For the trout:
Sprinkle the trout with salt, pepper and a little garlic granules. Smoked paprika would be good, too. Fry in the bacon grease until cooked and edges are crisped.

For the cauliflower:
While trout is cooking, put steamed cauliflower in a food processor or high speed blender, add just a little drizzle of cream and a dollop of sour cream (Wallaby Organics is heavenly and has no fillers). Don't add too much liquid. Blend until thick and creamy. Add salt to taste.

Put some cauliflower "mashed potatoes" on plate, place trout on it and top with a stack of green beans and a sprinkle of bacon.

This recipe would also work nicely with salmon or mild white fish.

Enjoy!
-Erin

Hello, Spring! Hello, Pollen!

The real title of this post is "Hello, Spring! Screw You, Allergies!!"

Spring is by far my favorite season in Nashville. It's not oppressively hot yet, the bugs are minimal and, unlike the Michigan springs of my childhood, it's blooming and vibrant rather than cold and muddy. The dogwoods, forsythia, redbuds and saucer magnolias are exploding into bloom right now. I love it!

However, there's a huge downside to Spring in Nashville: the allergies. Nashville is legendary for inducing allergies even in people who have not previously suffered from them. I was warned when I moved here 13 years ago- "Just wait a few years and you'll develop allergies!" I didn't believe it, but it happened. First, it was in the autumn (ragweed) and then over the years, I also started suffering in the spring (tree pollen). See that lovely picture above? Well, that's my archenemy, the Bradford Pear tree.

Anyone who has pollen allergies knows that they're no picnic. My variety of symptoms are downright miserable. Yes, there's some sneezing and some itchy nose (no itchy eyes or sinus infections, thank goodness!) but then there's the sore throat and the intense full body fatigue and heavy head that makes me feel like I've been drugged and makes it almost impossible to think clearly. When I first developed them, I went for a few acupuncture treatments and they cleared up for a number of years. Later, I no longer had group health insurance that payed for acupuncture so I turned to natural allergy supplements. I would still recommend acupuncture in a heartbeat, but I know that not everyone has access to or can afford it.

Not wanting to resort to Benedryl, which DOES make me so drugged up I can't think straight (not to mention it blocks the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is essential for memory function, among other things) and not wanting to use over the counter or prescription allergy meds, I've tried many natural remedies over the years.

I tried a variety of herbal, homeopathic and nutrient formulas, such as nettles, eyebright and quercetin (I worked in the supplement dept. of Whole Foods, so I had access to so many things). I didn't try the famed neti pot because I don't have the kind of symptoms a neti pot is used for (although they are supposed to be great and I know multitudes of people who love their neti pots!)
The only thing that worked for my set of symptoms were the Bioallers Formulas, which are homeopathic formulas containing minute amounts of specific allergens. People love to bash homeopathy or chalk it up to a placebo effect. Well, I think that's a load of BS. If that were the case, I doubt Bioallers would have worked better for me than the other formulas I tried (many of which worked great for my coworkers), but they work very well and I have a number of friends who also swear by them. I love that they have no side effects or contraindications.

I use the Tree Pollen formula in Spring and the Pollen Hayfever formula (for weeds and ragweed) in autumn. Thankfully, I don't need any of the other formulas for grass pollen (summer) pet dander or mold. The first day I take it, I dose every hour until I feel better. From there on out, I dose first thing in the morning, before pollen exposure so I'm one step ahead. It's easier to prevent than to reverse a reaction.

I've had people tell me that using these formulas will over time desensitize you to your allergens. There may be some truth to that- mine did seem to get less severe over the years and last autumn, I had none at all! That could be in part because of my diet (although I still had allergies my first year of Primal eating).

I actually think I had no allergies last fall because of some allergy clearing treatments my holistic chiropractor did on me around that time, because, lo and behold, I've had NO ALLERGIES so far this spring (and this is the time of year I really suffer!)

So, what were these magical allergy clearing treatments? I went through a series of NAET treatments. I wasn't doing them for seasonal allergies, per se, but rather as part of my autoimmune treatment protocol, to resolve leaky-gut induced food sensitivities. They seem wacky and out-there, but they work. They have a great track record even for serious (and extensive) food allergies.

Balancing the immune system, in and of itself, addresses allergies, since allergies are an autoimmune inflammatory reaction.

Anyway, I'm really jazzed not to need my allergy formula this time of year. Now I can be fully present and fully enjoying the beautiful Nashville blooms:)

-Erin