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Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic
There's a silent epidemic in western civilization, and it is right under our noses. Our jaws are getting smaller and our teeth crooked and crowded, creating not only aesthetic challenges but also difficulties with breathing. Modern orthodontics has persuaded us that braces and oral devices can correct these problems. While teeth can certainly be straightened, what about the underlying causes of this rapid shift in oral evolution and the health risks posed by obstructed airways?
Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich, a pioneering orthodontist and a world-renowned evolutionist, respectively, present the biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have driven us toward this major health challenge. They propose simple adjustments that can alleviate this developing crisis, as well as a major alternative to orthodontics that promises more significant long-term relief. Jaws will change your life. Every parent should read this book.
Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich, a pioneering orthodontist and a world-renowned evolutionist, respectively, present the biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have driven us toward this major health challenge. They propose simple adjustments that can alleviate this developing crisis, as well as a major alternative to orthodontics that promises more significant long-term relief. Jaws will change your life. Every parent should read this book.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
October 27, 2018
This is a weird one. I guess I should thank the acquisitions staff at Fort Vancouver Regional Library for purchasing this title and for displaying it on the New Books shelf for me to discover by serendipity. Robert Salpolsky wrote a Foreword, Jared Diamond blurbed it, and it's co-authored by the lauded Paul (Population Bomb) Ehrlich, but the tone is strangely demotic and chatty, heavily footnoted but veering into opinionated tangents presumably outside the expertise of an orthodontist (and I have to wonder how much the 86-year old Ehrlich was really involved).
So apparently early humans and hunter-gatherers had/have perfect dentition and oral roominess, and nice strong jaws. But since the advent of agriculture and cooking we eat food that is too soft and we don't chew enough, and the resultant malocclusion leads to breathing difficulties and a host of other physical effects, like shrinking jaws, receding chins, crowded teeth, occluded breathing/swallowing passageways, and, as the authors emphasize the most: diminished physical attractiveness. Yeah, they put an unseemly (in my opinion) emphasis on appearance, including forays into the ideals of attractiveness and many undisguised photographs of otherwise healthy adolescents who are called, without euphemism, "unattractive" and mourned over for that lost beauty. Yikes - it reads awkward. And I have to wonder: Am I really supposed to worry about this "hidden epidemic"? In the list of things that wake me up worrying in the middle of the night this is going to rank far behind antibiotic resistant superbugs and climate apocalypse-causing methane burps on the ocean floor.
So apparently early humans and hunter-gatherers had/have perfect dentition and oral roominess, and nice strong jaws. But since the advent of agriculture and cooking we eat food that is too soft and we don't chew enough, and the resultant malocclusion leads to breathing difficulties and a host of other physical effects, like shrinking jaws, receding chins, crowded teeth, occluded breathing/swallowing passageways, and, as the authors emphasize the most: diminished physical attractiveness. Yeah, they put an unseemly (in my opinion) emphasis on appearance, including forays into the ideals of attractiveness and many undisguised photographs of otherwise healthy adolescents who are called, without euphemism, "unattractive" and mourned over for that lost beauty. Yikes - it reads awkward. And I have to wonder: Am I really supposed to worry about this "hidden epidemic"? In the list of things that wake me up worrying in the middle of the night this is going to rank far behind antibiotic resistant superbugs and climate apocalypse-causing methane burps on the ocean floor.
May 16, 2019
I am a general dentist who provides basic orthodontic treatment. I picked this book up, hoping to read more about the relationship between airway issues and orthodontic problems. I was continually surprised to read Dr. Kahn's commentary that orthodontists largely ignore the airway and breathing issues...because my limited training in orthodontic treatment was seemingly much more thorough in addressing the connection between airway, breathing, and dental growth. These are issues I start watching from the first dental visit when a child is usually two to three years old. I know there are many orthodontists out there who are concerned with airway issues, because if I am working with them in Mississippi and reading their research in journal articles.
I found the book largely anecdotal, based on the author's experience as a practitioner and a parent, with little data to support her or Dr. Mew's opinions. While I understand that the book was written with a lay audience in mind, if you are going to propose a complete upheaval in culture and healthcare, then it needs to be supported with data.
As one reviewer noted, I found the use of photos demonstrating "attractive" v. "unattractive" children and teens odd, as well as case studies with photos so small you couldn't really evaluate the results. The same with photos demonstrating a mouth-breathing child, then using that to support the theory that this caused later growth. I am sure that if you look back at childhood photos of most any of us, you will find at least a few with our mouths open, at least in my case I've usually been talking or laughing...this is not "proof" of mouth-breathing.
While I found Dr. Kahn's theories about sleep apnea and obstructive airway issues of interest and expect to see more of these issues based on my experience in my own practice, I did not find the overall book compelling.
I found the book largely anecdotal, based on the author's experience as a practitioner and a parent, with little data to support her or Dr. Mew's opinions. While I understand that the book was written with a lay audience in mind, if you are going to propose a complete upheaval in culture and healthcare, then it needs to be supported with data.
As one reviewer noted, I found the use of photos demonstrating "attractive" v. "unattractive" children and teens odd, as well as case studies with photos so small you couldn't really evaluate the results. The same with photos demonstrating a mouth-breathing child, then using that to support the theory that this caused later growth. I am sure that if you look back at childhood photos of most any of us, you will find at least a few with our mouths open, at least in my case I've usually been talking or laughing...this is not "proof" of mouth-breathing.
While I found Dr. Kahn's theories about sleep apnea and obstructive airway issues of interest and expect to see more of these issues based on my experience in my own practice, I did not find the overall book compelling.
September 24, 2020
The central premise is an idea that has been popular with anthropologists and some fringe orthodontists: crooked teeth are a function of undersized jaws due to changes in diet and lifestyle. Kahn and Ehrlich marshal their supportive evidence, but for anyone who wants to read about this, I would instead recommend Nestor's book "Breath." This book seems to have more of a how-to emphasis on how to encourage jaw growth in children, but they rarely include children's ages, which make the advice hard to follow. They recommend `hard' food and a 'pre-industrial diet,' but they don't say what this is, or what age these foods can be given. They only give lip service to women who cannot breast feed; I think that this would be a difficult read for women who had had a low supply, or required a medicine that interfered with lactation.
Lastly, they seem to hero worship Dr John Mew and share an obsession with him that I found disturbing. One of the claims is that undersized jaws can lead to undersized airways, which can lead to sleep apnea and a host of life long health problems. This is a more than compelling reason to study jaw growth. And yet the authors and the senior Dr Mew seem fixated instead on the attractiveness of children's faces. They use numerous before and after pictures of children, showing how "beautiful" children became "unattractive" because of their mouth breathing. It felt shallow and cruel. This doesn't even touch Mew's beauty contest between identical twins, where one has been treated with traditional orthodontia and the other had been treated with Mew's `orthotropics' system. The authors seemed to have no moral qualms with the panel judging the brothers' faces. I finished the book convinced that there is a pressing need to do the relevant research, but I also finished creeped out by the need to rate children's looks.
Lastly, they seem to hero worship Dr John Mew and share an obsession with him that I found disturbing. One of the claims is that undersized jaws can lead to undersized airways, which can lead to sleep apnea and a host of life long health problems. This is a more than compelling reason to study jaw growth. And yet the authors and the senior Dr Mew seem fixated instead on the attractiveness of children's faces. They use numerous before and after pictures of children, showing how "beautiful" children became "unattractive" because of their mouth breathing. It felt shallow and cruel. This doesn't even touch Mew's beauty contest between identical twins, where one has been treated with traditional orthodontia and the other had been treated with Mew's `orthotropics' system. The authors seemed to have no moral qualms with the panel judging the brothers' faces. I finished the book convinced that there is a pressing need to do the relevant research, but I also finished creeped out by the need to rate children's looks.
March 7, 2023
It’s not just what you eat. It’s how you eat it, and what your jaw is doing when it’s at rest.
This book is great if you’re new to the world of malocclusion and are not yet aware of the massive effect tongue ties may have on our jaws AND bodies as a whole.
It’s also fantastic if you are well aware of the effect tongue ties have on the body as a whole, because you get answers as to the why, as well as an answer to the question: what do I do next?
I came into reading this book well aware that high palates, tongue ties, and jaw malocclusion were very much less than ideal for your posture, gut and more, but not fully knowing what to do next, or how to prevent the future generations from needing as much work as I do. While many may read this and believe it’s about “being attractive” (there are indeed references to mouth breathing and a recessed jaw being unattractive, and a wider jaw with better formation being a more attractive alternative), it is inevitably about function and how a poor jaw posture leads to deterioration of other skills, postures, and overall bodily function. It’s about health.
I’ve come away with studies and information to back up what I have already learned, and I’ve also learned how to help prevent these issues from affecting my children’s lives (avoiding braces, and other costly interventions) as well as how to improve my own health.
Overall, a good book for anyone to read, whether you know a lot or just a little, or nothing at all yet.
This book is great if you’re new to the world of malocclusion and are not yet aware of the massive effect tongue ties may have on our jaws AND bodies as a whole.
It’s also fantastic if you are well aware of the effect tongue ties have on the body as a whole, because you get answers as to the why, as well as an answer to the question: what do I do next?
I came into reading this book well aware that high palates, tongue ties, and jaw malocclusion were very much less than ideal for your posture, gut and more, but not fully knowing what to do next, or how to prevent the future generations from needing as much work as I do. While many may read this and believe it’s about “being attractive” (there are indeed references to mouth breathing and a recessed jaw being unattractive, and a wider jaw with better formation being a more attractive alternative), it is inevitably about function and how a poor jaw posture leads to deterioration of other skills, postures, and overall bodily function. It’s about health.
I’ve come away with studies and information to back up what I have already learned, and I’ve also learned how to help prevent these issues from affecting my children’s lives (avoiding braces, and other costly interventions) as well as how to improve my own health.
Overall, a good book for anyone to read, whether you know a lot or just a little, or nothing at all yet.
October 27, 2020
The comedian Chris Fleming used to do a bit about meeting the annoying boyfriends of his friends. It goes like: "One day, I'll meet a boyfriend who's just crawling around on all fours, like 'Did you know people aren't actually supposed to walk upright?' and I'll have to talk to him about his study abroad and modern society." I kept thinking about it while reading this book, which has some interesting points to make if you care about comparative anatomy. It also has a lot of half-baked fuzzy ideas about hunter gatherers as a whole and misses out on the astonishing diversity of human diets and child-rearing traditions. If you're not a parent weaning one child and trying to choose an orthodontist for the others, this is sort of a slog. Still, there are excellent tidbits and the research is impressive.
July 20, 2018
The good:
Sleep apnea prevalence is growing and it isn’t something I have thought so much about. Ehrlich and Kahn present a plausible story about how an industrial diet and mouth breathing results is an underdeveloped jaw / poor oral posture that among other things can make breathing at night challenging. Cool.
The bad:
Anecdotes anecdotes anecdotes. The whole thing is a parade of ugly looking mouth breather kids who get fixed with a type of intervention (orthotropics) that strengthens the jaw. But let’s talk about the data! The big study I remember was rhesus monkeys in the 70s who had their noses plugged, became mouth breathers, and developed bad oral posture. That is hardly evidence that orthotropics > orthodontics.
If you’re going to promote a medical intervention, bring evidence next time or at least humility and explicit warning about what is known and not known.
Sleep apnea prevalence is growing and it isn’t something I have thought so much about. Ehrlich and Kahn present a plausible story about how an industrial diet and mouth breathing results is an underdeveloped jaw / poor oral posture that among other things can make breathing at night challenging. Cool.
The bad:
Anecdotes anecdotes anecdotes. The whole thing is a parade of ugly looking mouth breather kids who get fixed with a type of intervention (orthotropics) that strengthens the jaw. But let’s talk about the data! The big study I remember was rhesus monkeys in the 70s who had their noses plugged, became mouth breathers, and developed bad oral posture. That is hardly evidence that orthotropics > orthodontics.
If you’re going to promote a medical intervention, bring evidence next time or at least humility and explicit warning about what is known and not known.
November 6, 2021
Incredibly repetitive. Could have been an article, didn't need to be a book.
Read
January 24, 2024I have no way of evaluating the medical orthodontic advice in this book but it did further impress upon me the importance of oral posture and closing your mouth when breathing.
April 5, 2024
As a mother of airway issue children, an individual that has had a form of braces that failed after a decade, and being a mouth breather myself I’ve found researching this topic to be fascinating, helpful, and illuminating. Sandra Kahn did a thorough job with this book. Personally I appreciated the comparisons of orthodontics to forwardontics/orthotropics/bioblock and the detailed approach to why tongue position, chewing quality, and even posture play a tremendous role into oral health. It’s so much more than malocclusions. Crooked teeth, bad bites, mouth breathing are all SYMPTOMS of a greater issue, one that impacts all of health and is fixable.
The only issue I had with this title was the heavy evolutionary approach but that’s expected with the co-writer’s beliefs.
The only issue I had with this title was the heavy evolutionary approach but that’s expected with the co-writer’s beliefs.
September 11, 2020
Useful little book, amending my previous knowledge about iatrogenics - in this case about shape of the face, chewing force.
I mostly recommend it for raising children, it applies less to ill-developed adult jaws.
I found it fascinating that the jaw and teeth are also constantly shifting and reorganizing, and that prolonged correct use can still ameliorate some adult deformities slowly.
I'm already chewing a lot, and I'll pay more attention to keep my mouth closed (teeth touching) throughout the day from now on.
I mostly recommend it for raising children, it applies less to ill-developed adult jaws.
I found it fascinating that the jaw and teeth are also constantly shifting and reorganizing, and that prolonged correct use can still ameliorate some adult deformities slowly.
I'm already chewing a lot, and I'll pay more attention to keep my mouth closed (teeth touching) throughout the day from now on.
March 31, 2021
As a book, I want to give it 1-2 stars. This does not invalidate the subject's critical importance in long-term health and childhood development/habit formation. Snoring, mouth breathing, soft/processed diet, among other signs may be worth observing and discussing with a health provider (without being a hypochondriac about it).
A bold and provocative title. The subject matter deserves that, and much, much more. What is the subject? I found myself wondering time and again.
I feel that this book, at heart, wants to be about our chronically ill civilization. To pinpoint, maladaptive structural changes that impact the efficacy of day-to-day breathing. More critically, the insidious, systemic, pervasive ill-effects of obstructive sleep apnea (quality sleep has been getting better coverage and there are many good resources out there). Where did things go wrong for us? Industrial diet. Social/cultural behavioural shifts. Superficial standard of care both in expectation and execution.
Dr. Mew and his insights were portrayed with some fondness. I was especially moved by the included photograph of his lone petition for policy change outside the BDA. The qualitative case studies and research cited could have been valuable, had they not been diluted with pedestrian accounts. I feel the urgency, but it was difficult to gain depth through the repetitive, almost nagging tone of the book.
That is not to say that the theories don't hold. For me, the connections were just portrayed too hastily here. On that note, I think compelling cases can be made without leaning on journal publications. Maybe this is the handicap of academic reservedness that makes impactful, outward-facing work difficult?
I think this was a difficult undertaking. This was admitted in the foreword, and the apologies peppered through our about the lack of sufficient long term data. Chronic illness is a vast topic. Breathing equally so, and possibly easily dismissed as trivial. Maladapative structural changes of our jaw and entrained behaviour as a bi-product of civilization is overshadowed by the myopic fixation on aesthetic, alignment, and unfounded confidence in corrective devices. Effort goes to improve on easily measurable, the complex underlying problems get ignored. Garbage in, garbage out.
Humblest apologies to the authors for any harsh criticism, but thank you for writing this. I want to say that I am on your side. But the material needs to be taken to much, much further depth even for myself as a general audience. I hope this succeeded in planting the seed for change, and I am sure this is only one among your many commitments to health in our times.
Again. I just want to say it is an important subject. There is a lot that needs to be told, but the picture needs to be much more vivid.
I came across this book by circling around writings by:
Daniel E. Lieberman (evolution)
Satchin Panda (circadian rhythm)
James Nestor (breathing physiology)
Matthew Walker (sleep)
Jason Fung (insulin)
and lastly, by way of a very informative series of ongoing lectures by Andrew Huberman.
Would be curious to know if anyone else has resources they could share or add to the list.
A bold and provocative title. The subject matter deserves that, and much, much more. What is the subject? I found myself wondering time and again.
I feel that this book, at heart, wants to be about our chronically ill civilization. To pinpoint, maladaptive structural changes that impact the efficacy of day-to-day breathing. More critically, the insidious, systemic, pervasive ill-effects of obstructive sleep apnea (quality sleep has been getting better coverage and there are many good resources out there). Where did things go wrong for us? Industrial diet. Social/cultural behavioural shifts. Superficial standard of care both in expectation and execution.
Dr. Mew and his insights were portrayed with some fondness. I was especially moved by the included photograph of his lone petition for policy change outside the BDA. The qualitative case studies and research cited could have been valuable, had they not been diluted with pedestrian accounts. I feel the urgency, but it was difficult to gain depth through the repetitive, almost nagging tone of the book.
That is not to say that the theories don't hold. For me, the connections were just portrayed too hastily here. On that note, I think compelling cases can be made without leaning on journal publications. Maybe this is the handicap of academic reservedness that makes impactful, outward-facing work difficult?
I think this was a difficult undertaking. This was admitted in the foreword, and the apologies peppered through our about the lack of sufficient long term data. Chronic illness is a vast topic. Breathing equally so, and possibly easily dismissed as trivial. Maladapative structural changes of our jaw and entrained behaviour as a bi-product of civilization is overshadowed by the myopic fixation on aesthetic, alignment, and unfounded confidence in corrective devices. Effort goes to improve on easily measurable, the complex underlying problems get ignored. Garbage in, garbage out.
Humblest apologies to the authors for any harsh criticism, but thank you for writing this. I want to say that I am on your side. But the material needs to be taken to much, much further depth even for myself as a general audience. I hope this succeeded in planting the seed for change, and I am sure this is only one among your many commitments to health in our times.
Again. I just want to say it is an important subject. There is a lot that needs to be told, but the picture needs to be much more vivid.
I came across this book by circling around writings by:
Daniel E. Lieberman (evolution)
Satchin Panda (circadian rhythm)
James Nestor (breathing physiology)
Matthew Walker (sleep)
Jason Fung (insulin)
and lastly, by way of a very informative series of ongoing lectures by Andrew Huberman.
Would be curious to know if anyone else has resources they could share or add to the list.
December 2, 2021
I read another book on this topic which was so much better — more well researched and written.
October 14, 2022
В целом довольно неплохая книга, написана в духе Сапиенс, но читать целую книгу только про проблемы челюсти — для меня слишком много. Поэтому, я не без удовольствия, прочитал половину и выудил оттуда одну главную мысль: надо жевать твердую пищу, особенно в детстве. Иначе у вас будет тонн проблем и некрасивое лицо.
February 11, 2022
This book is aimed towards those that can influence jaw development in children. As an adult already dealing with jaw issues, it was rarely helpful, unfortunately. Before picking up this book, I'd first recommend "Breath" by James Nestor, as it discusses similar topics in a better, more enjoyable, manner.
A few notes...
page 65 - "long face syndrome" - associated with pattern of keeping upper and lower teeth just 2 mm apart - a.k.a. mouth breathing, even if lips are closed
page 91 - The ideal oral-facial resting position entails three things: lips closed, tongue on the palate, and teeth touching lightly together. << This is probably the key detail of book.
page 110 - Example of 30-year-old woman suffering from headaches and poor sleep. As a teen she had had braces and healthy permanent teeth extracted [similar to me]. This has a retrusive effect on the jaws, face, and throat. This orthodontic strategy is now known to lead sometimes to airway problems and/or pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). After she had the spaces orthodontically opened as an adult, and had four dental implants to replace the removed teeth, all her sleep-disturbed-breathing and pain symptoms disappeared. Similar cases are not rare.
page 135 - adult forwardontics, using Homeoblock and the oral-nasal airway system (OASYS) to widen dental arch and advance lower jaw, making more room for tongue and tending to open nasal passages, improving the capacity of airway
page 136 - In curing malocclusion, the upper jaw almost always needs to be encouraged to move forward, and that is the foundation of forwardontics.
page 142 - To get a true gauge of the potential effects [of tooth removal on airway], one needs to examine x-rays taken 20 years after tooth removal. Extraction usually leads to a gradual shrinkage in the volume of the mouth. // Despite continuing defensive attempts to exonerate orthodontics from responsibility for the onset of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we now have multiple studies with solid evidence that link the loss of individual teeth or the smaller size being unequivocally linked to OSA.
A few notes...
page 65 - "long face syndrome" - associated with pattern of keeping upper and lower teeth just 2 mm apart - a.k.a. mouth breathing, even if lips are closed
page 91 - The ideal oral-facial resting position entails three things: lips closed, tongue on the palate, and teeth touching lightly together. << This is probably the key detail of book.
page 110 - Example of 30-year-old woman suffering from headaches and poor sleep. As a teen she had had braces and healthy permanent teeth extracted [similar to me]. This has a retrusive effect on the jaws, face, and throat. This orthodontic strategy is now known to lead sometimes to airway problems and/or pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). After she had the spaces orthodontically opened as an adult, and had four dental implants to replace the removed teeth, all her sleep-disturbed-breathing and pain symptoms disappeared. Similar cases are not rare.
page 135 - adult forwardontics, using Homeoblock and the oral-nasal airway system (OASYS) to widen dental arch and advance lower jaw, making more room for tongue and tending to open nasal passages, improving the capacity of airway
page 136 - In curing malocclusion, the upper jaw almost always needs to be encouraged to move forward, and that is the foundation of forwardontics.
page 142 - To get a true gauge of the potential effects [of tooth removal on airway], one needs to examine x-rays taken 20 years after tooth removal. Extraction usually leads to a gradual shrinkage in the volume of the mouth. // Despite continuing defensive attempts to exonerate orthodontics from responsibility for the onset of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we now have multiple studies with solid evidence that link the loss of individual teeth or the smaller size being unequivocally linked to OSA.
January 2, 2019
This is the only book written by someone with orthodontics training that discusses how to develop healthy oral posture in children so that their jaws develop correctly (and so that related conditions like sleep apnea and teeth grinding do not develop). The authors give a compelling case about the need for more attention on oral posture and infant feeding practices, rather than later interventions such as braces. I'd recommend reading a couple of the first chapters and then skipping to chapter 7, the "what you can do" chapter.
The writing is sometimes very clear and logical, and other times redundant, boring, and even downright awkward. The whole chapter on "attractiveness" contains cringeworthy examples, and the authors often seem unaware that commenting on children's attractiveness is not really appropriate in a public-facing book (no matter how often such things are discussed and emphasized within the orthodontics community). If you can overlook these sometimes egregious shortcomings, the information contained is helpful and unique.
The writing is sometimes very clear and logical, and other times redundant, boring, and even downright awkward. The whole chapter on "attractiveness" contains cringeworthy examples, and the authors often seem unaware that commenting on children's attractiveness is not really appropriate in a public-facing book (no matter how often such things are discussed and emphasized within the orthodontics community). If you can overlook these sometimes egregious shortcomings, the information contained is helpful and unique.
August 14, 2021
Cool thesis. Now that it's been pointed out I see mouth breathing and poorly formed jaws everywhere, including myself. Where were they when I was young! Would be cool to see a large proper study with this intervention. I like how they highlight how small cultural cues can impact health.
On the other hand, I can't believe the author made the claim that only the textural component of food affects development and that the nutritional component doesn't when we know it obviously affects growth of other bones and soft tissue. Kind of felt like they observed this one thing and they erroneously extrapolated it to be the problem/solution to everything.
On the other hand, I can't believe the author made the claim that only the textural component of food affects development and that the nutritional component doesn't when we know it obviously affects growth of other bones and soft tissue. Kind of felt like they observed this one thing and they erroneously extrapolated it to be the problem/solution to everything.
August 10, 2022
The fourth star (maybe also the third) is for the information, which was novel to me, well-aligned with my personal experience, and worth coming into contact with. You can move your tongue around in your mouth to test the effect on the airway yourself, and I'm now permanently aware of my mouth posture in a positive way; I'd like to have a sufficiently oxygenated brain and better oral health.
I'd recommend skimming, but it's definitely worth the look.
The writing is incredibly repetitive throughout, and the book probably could have been half as long. The argument was compelling, but the tedium detracted from the impact.
I'd recommend skimming, but it's definitely worth the look.
The writing is incredibly repetitive throughout, and the book probably could have been half as long. The argument was compelling, but the tedium detracted from the impact.
September 21, 2020
When the environment evolves at a much faster rate than the humans there will be problems in adapting and some of them can even produce changes which will be realised when it's too late to act upon. One such hidden epidemic is discussed here, wherein they talk about the rising health problems linked to the type of food and specifically the way we eat them.
April 9, 2020
This was a very short read about the development of the human face and the dangerous changes that are occurring due to changes in diet and environment. I would suggest this book for any parent or anyone interested in human growth and development.
December 28, 2022
Informative. Wish I was privy to this info when my children were little.
January 16, 2024
I was expecting more practical stuff; more pronounced differences between twins, et al. I don't know if the delta between expectation and reality is really the book's fault but it didn't live up to the hype IMO.
March 25, 2024
whole lotta yapping couldve been 150 pages shorter
September 20, 2023
It’s amazing book, but it’s not for public. It’s bringing so many complicated research, that one can misinterpret it. Now there r so many people taping mouth over night because of that book! And authors didn’t mean it at all!!
January 25, 2022
The hidden epidemic is that many people's jaws and faces aren't developing properly. There are lots of potential reasons why - anything that causes a person to have improper oral posture (tongue resting on the roof of the mouth, teeth slightly touching, mouth closed). Together, this proper posture gives the 'scaffolding' required to keep your dental arches wide enough for the tongue to fit, and for the bone of the upper jaw to grow upward and out. When proper oral posture is not in place, the bone grows inward and down, leading to all kinds of health problems. The main being restricted breathing, especially during sleep (sleep apnea), which itself leads to poor cognitive function, daytime tiredness, behaviour issues, anxiety/depression, etc. Poor jaw development also leads to crowded teeth (why more and more people need braces these days), sunken chin or elongated face, etc.
According to the authors, the biggest culprit is mouth-breathing, caused by allergies and stuffy nose, or other issues (can be a learned habit from childhood). Also, lack of breastfeeding as an infant can cause the face and jaw not to develop properly (the strong sucking required helps build the face and jaw muscles, keeping the proper oral posture). Lastly, the modern western diet consists of too much soft food and not enough chewing of tough food, which also impedes the development of our jaws, tongue and face muscles.
This book is absolutely fascinating. It points to a huge public health issue that could account for all kinds of chronic and acute health issues we are seeing in western populations (sleep apnea, ADHD, crooked teeth, the list goes on). And it all can be properly prevented through early interventions (correcting mouth breathing), as well as changing some basic things in our culture (importance of breastfeeding, and weening children from breast milk onto hard foods that require chewing rather than mushy baby foods).
It is also a scathing criticism of current dental and orthopedic practices, which either fail to identify the problem, or make it worse in some cases (braces can have the effect of pushing the teeth further inwards, after molars and wisdom teeth have been removed to make room). Research is thin, however, and the solutions to these problems aren't huge cash cows. So it is likely to never become recognized as the public health epidemic that it is, and it will likely not result in any societal changes. Too bad, because it could prevent lots of more costly diseases and health issues later in life, saving the public health system, and also giving people a higher quality of life.
However, I found it strange that the authors ignore certain treatments that are available for adults. For example, sleep apnea patients can try oral appliances at night that hold the jaw forward, and research has found them to be successful. Also, there is a whole method for promoting bone growth in the upper jaw that works just fine for adults (of course, correcting early in life is much more effective, but adults can find treatments). Check out for example, the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance (AGGA).
The criticisms that the book provides mostly anecdotal evidence is perplexing to me. The whole point is that this is an overlooked and under-researched area of health. Reviewers might want to think critically about why that is - for example, there is a lot of money to be made in orthodontics and straightening crooked teeth, so that there isn't much incentive to look at root causes. Some of the best advances in science and human health are often made by pioneers who are observing something, making connections and starting to move the research in new directions. I applaud the authors for their keen observations and efforts to raise alarm bells. The authors would love nothing more, I'm sure, than this book to lead to MORE research on these issues and therefore more evidence - but it has to start somewhere. They also describe at length the many challenges (ethical and otherwise) to conducting research in these areas...
According to the authors, the biggest culprit is mouth-breathing, caused by allergies and stuffy nose, or other issues (can be a learned habit from childhood). Also, lack of breastfeeding as an infant can cause the face and jaw not to develop properly (the strong sucking required helps build the face and jaw muscles, keeping the proper oral posture). Lastly, the modern western diet consists of too much soft food and not enough chewing of tough food, which also impedes the development of our jaws, tongue and face muscles.
This book is absolutely fascinating. It points to a huge public health issue that could account for all kinds of chronic and acute health issues we are seeing in western populations (sleep apnea, ADHD, crooked teeth, the list goes on). And it all can be properly prevented through early interventions (correcting mouth breathing), as well as changing some basic things in our culture (importance of breastfeeding, and weening children from breast milk onto hard foods that require chewing rather than mushy baby foods).
It is also a scathing criticism of current dental and orthopedic practices, which either fail to identify the problem, or make it worse in some cases (braces can have the effect of pushing the teeth further inwards, after molars and wisdom teeth have been removed to make room). Research is thin, however, and the solutions to these problems aren't huge cash cows. So it is likely to never become recognized as the public health epidemic that it is, and it will likely not result in any societal changes. Too bad, because it could prevent lots of more costly diseases and health issues later in life, saving the public health system, and also giving people a higher quality of life.
However, I found it strange that the authors ignore certain treatments that are available for adults. For example, sleep apnea patients can try oral appliances at night that hold the jaw forward, and research has found them to be successful. Also, there is a whole method for promoting bone growth in the upper jaw that works just fine for adults (of course, correcting early in life is much more effective, but adults can find treatments). Check out for example, the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance (AGGA).
The criticisms that the book provides mostly anecdotal evidence is perplexing to me. The whole point is that this is an overlooked and under-researched area of health. Reviewers might want to think critically about why that is - for example, there is a lot of money to be made in orthodontics and straightening crooked teeth, so that there isn't much incentive to look at root causes. Some of the best advances in science and human health are often made by pioneers who are observing something, making connections and starting to move the research in new directions. I applaud the authors for their keen observations and efforts to raise alarm bells. The authors would love nothing more, I'm sure, than this book to lead to MORE research on these issues and therefore more evidence - but it has to start somewhere. They also describe at length the many challenges (ethical and otherwise) to conducting research in these areas...
November 27, 2021
I have certainly never spent more time thinking about my breathing and the position of my jaws and tongue while reading than I did while reading this book.
The premise is fascinating - that mouth breathing is primarily a Western, industrialized habit and has led to "poor oral posture" with a tongue that falls back and partially blocks the airway, and a longer face and smaller jaw that leads to the current epidemic of orthodontics. Some "just so" evidence from unnamed native cultures in the Western US in the 1800s who a traveling dentist noticed had perfect teeth and also always held their mouthes closed - calling Westerners "black mouths" for their habit of hanging their mouthes open.
Kahn and Ehrlich (an orthodontist and evolutionist) suggest teaching children at a young age to breathe through their noses most of the time, to breast feed exclusively for six months and then slowly wean to food that is challenging to chew - all of this forces more use of the jaw, leading to a jaw that reaches out and will better accommodate the teeth, rather than a small jaw with crowded teeth. They suggest that even adults can retrain themselves to nose breathe- rewarding themselves with better sleep, better breath, less sleep apnea, less snoring.
With that said I think it would have been better as an article than a book - it was very repetitive. I'm not sure nose breathing would really cure everything they suggest it would - but it sure doesn't hurt! And certainly chewing more and longer sounds like good advice as well - eating less processed food is a good idea all around.
The premise is fascinating - that mouth breathing is primarily a Western, industrialized habit and has led to "poor oral posture" with a tongue that falls back and partially blocks the airway, and a longer face and smaller jaw that leads to the current epidemic of orthodontics. Some "just so" evidence from unnamed native cultures in the Western US in the 1800s who a traveling dentist noticed had perfect teeth and also always held their mouthes closed - calling Westerners "black mouths" for their habit of hanging their mouthes open.
Kahn and Ehrlich (an orthodontist and evolutionist) suggest teaching children at a young age to breathe through their noses most of the time, to breast feed exclusively for six months and then slowly wean to food that is challenging to chew - all of this forces more use of the jaw, leading to a jaw that reaches out and will better accommodate the teeth, rather than a small jaw with crowded teeth. They suggest that even adults can retrain themselves to nose breathe- rewarding themselves with better sleep, better breath, less sleep apnea, less snoring.
With that said I think it would have been better as an article than a book - it was very repetitive. I'm not sure nose breathing would really cure everything they suggest it would - but it sure doesn't hurt! And certainly chewing more and longer sounds like good advice as well - eating less processed food is a good idea all around.
February 27, 2022
We'll I couldn't get passed the authors' constantly bashing creation theory.
They denounce creation in an attempt to glorify the theory of evolution, even when it doesn't seem to serve a purpose for their argument whatsoever. I've sensed a sort of bitterness towards the concept of an intelligent designer, with no apparent evidence or real point.
Take, for example,
"What are the origins of the oral posture part of the development problem? The problem's very existence tells us that no intelligent being designed our jaws to be too small for our teeth and tongues. The evolution story, is ,by contrast, much more logical than the "intelligent design" view..."
This is from Chapter 5, "Development and Oral Posture"
Let's not forget Genesis 2:7
"...and the Lord God formed man...and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life."
They denounce creation in an attempt to glorify the theory of evolution, even when it doesn't seem to serve a purpose for their argument whatsoever. I've sensed a sort of bitterness towards the concept of an intelligent designer, with no apparent evidence or real point.
Take, for example,
"What are the origins of the oral posture part of the development problem? The problem's very existence tells us that no intelligent being designed our jaws to be too small for our teeth and tongues. The evolution story, is ,by contrast, much more logical than the "intelligent design" view..."
This is from Chapter 5, "Development and Oral Posture"
Let's not forget Genesis 2:7
"...and the Lord God formed man...and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life."
February 28, 2022
I can't believe I read through the whole thing. Any insights or importance this work might have (and there is absolutely a seed of something important here, especially starting around chapter seven) are completely drowned out by the authors utter inability to see beyond their own seemingly very narrow worldviews and unquestioned assumptions, that are instead passed off as fact or something widely understood and shared.
This book is rife with ableism, classicism, privilege and the lot. I can't understand why Sapolsky wrote the foreword, but didn't feel compelled to offer some wisdom prior to publication. Maybe he did.
Edit February 2022: https://undark.org/2021/09/08/short-o...
This book is rife with ableism, classicism, privilege and the lot. I can't understand why Sapolsky wrote the foreword, but didn't feel compelled to offer some wisdom prior to publication. Maybe he did.
Edit February 2022: https://undark.org/2021/09/08/short-o...
January 3, 2023
There’s a premise worthy of consideration buried in here somewhere, but it’s under a lot of trash. Correlation≠causation. I don’t know enough to debunk every claim that sounds like it’s missing context or not evidence-based, or being overstated. That said, I do know enough about infant feeding to know that some of their claims are straight up incorrect. Nonnutritive suckling at the breast causes malocclusion? That’s a big claim.
TL;DR: skip this trash heap. If you’re interested in this subject, you’re probably smart enough to read something better than this.
TL;DR: skip this trash heap. If you’re interested in this subject, you’re probably smart enough to read something better than this.
December 30, 2019
Fascinating book regarding the evolution of jaws and the airway. Considering my 8 year old just had his tonsils and adenoids out at the urging of his orthodontist due to mouth breathing and snoring and his orthodontist is also discussing with us the pros of treatment in regards to his teeth AND his airway, I found the book fascinating. Every parent should read it when their children are young.
August 25, 2020
I enjoyed this book. I was wondering why we as modern humans have such horrible teeth compared to our ancestors and also why we need our wisdom teeth removed. This book answered most my questions and also left me with some practical advise on how to keep my jaw in shape.
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