Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
The true scientific reasons for crowded or crooked teeth and what you can do to achieve a naturally straight smile both in baby and adult teeth.
Scientists have suggested several different theories over the decades as to what causes crooked teeth in humans.
When my Dad started medical school in the late 1940s, he was taught that racial mixing (Italians marrying Irish for example) was the cause of crooked teeth.
Malocclusions had just started to reach epidemic proportions in children at that time.
Of course, this theory of racial mixing causing crooked teeth which were incidentally presented as fact to the wide-eyed medical students of the time is completely ridiculous and has long since been disproven.
Other theories include thumb sucking and consuming soft foods which are suppositions subscribed to by many orthodontists.
The soft food theory suggests that because humans don’t exercise their jaw muscles enough that our jaws have become weak and narrowed over time.
One orthodontist once told me (while I struggled to keep a straight face) that wisdom teeth were being genetically “selected out” of the gene pool because they are no longer needed because of the different foods that humans now eat compared with ancestral societies.
Now comes a variation of the “soft food causes crooked teeth” theory which was recently described in a study published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This new theory states that the movement of humans from hunter-gatherers to farmers around 10,000 years ago put us on the inevitable road to the orthodontist’s chair.
To test this hypothesis, Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, an anthropologist at the University of Kent in the UK, examined the skull and jaw shapes of ancient skeletons housed in museums that originated from Africa, Australia, Europe, and North/South America.
Six of the populations lived by farming and five were hunter-gatherers.
A significant correlation existed between how a population obtained its food and the shape of the jaw. Hunter-gatherers had narrower and more jutting lower jaws whereas those of the agriculturalists were shorter and wider.
The shape of the upper jaw and palate also varied somewhat between the farmers and hunter-gatherers.
Von Cramon-Taubadel concludes by suggesting that the transition to farming and an increase in food processing both of which led to the consumption of softer foods resulted in a shorter and weaker human jaw.
“Jaw shortening” leads to greater crowding of the teeth.
To lend support to her theory, von Cramon-Taubadel refers to preliminary studies of animals that show that those that are raised on softer more processed foods develop smaller jaws than those raised on fresh, unprocessed diets.
Katerina Harvati, an anthropologist at the University of Tubingen in Germany says that this recent paper by von Cramon-Taubadel is a “well thought out piece of research and an important contribution” to understanding how the way humans live affects their body shape.
She goes on to say, “These findings confirm long-held ideas that the dietary shift to softer foods was an important influence affecting facial and dental morphology.” (1)
The “Soft Food” Theory
Strong contradictory evidence to the soft food theory as a reason for crooked teeth is presented in Dr. Weston A. Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
How this convincing evidence was completely ignored as part of this supposedly “well thought out piece of research” is rather surprising and I would think, downright embarrassing for the author.
While hunter-gatherers certainly had strong jaws which allowed them to consume hard foods, the strength did not come from greater exercising of the jaw muscles! As suggested by Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation, such a theory makes the critical mistake of confusing muscle with bone.
A narrowed jaw and palate, for example, can be identified in babies at birth long before they have chewed anything!
Dr. Price also correctly pointed out that when the jaw and palate are narrowed, other parts of the skeleton are correspondingly narrowed as well such as the pelvic opening which causes greater difficulty in childbirth and the chest cavity which crowds the vital organs.
The Swiss farmers studied by Dr. Price subsisted on very soft foods and yet had beautifully broad palates with perfectly straight teeth.
Moreover, the South Sea Islanders photographed by Dr. Price with perfectly straight teeth consumed primarily seafood and poi, both soft foods with poi, in particular, a very soft and sticky staple carbohydrate in their diet.
The Truth About Crooked Teeth
Von Cramon-Taubadel did get one aspect of her paper correct. The rise of food processing did indeed contribute to the modern epidemic of crooked teeth, but not because such foods are softer than unprocessed foods.
Rather, processed and industrialized foods are devoid of the critical nutrients necessary to produce a broad and sturdy jaw with correspondingly straight teeth.
How to Get Naturally Straight Teeth
Dr. Price’s research compellingly argues that a lack of jaw development and crooked teeth is entirely nutritional in origin such as attempting to build a wide bridge with substandard materials. (2)
Without essential nutrients in the form of minerals and the fat-soluble activators A, D, and K2 which were abundant in primitive diets, the jaw and palate cannot form with enough strength to support a broad facial structure.
No surprise that the pregnancy diet of ancestral women was rich in all three of these palate-widening nutrients, but these nutrients in their natural, synergistic form are woefully low in prenatal diets of today. Prenatal supplements do not adequately fill the gap either as these pills are largely synthetic and not easily absorbed.
Traditional cultures ensured that a fat soluble-rich diet continued throughout a child’s early years as well. This guaranteed straight baby teeth as well as uncrowded adult teeth.
The easiest way to ensure a child gets enough is with a daily dose of high vitamin cod liver oil and a K2 supplement such as butter oil, natto extract, or emu oil. Vetted brands listed here.
Hence, the narrowing of the face and crooked teeth in the majority of modern children is the result of a nutritionally deficient diet. This is the case no matter what the hardness of weaning foods, thumb-sucking or pacifier use, or whether the baby was breastfed and for how long.
(1) Blame Your Crowded Teeth on Early Farmers, Wired
(2) The Right Price, The Weston A. Price Foundation
More Information
How I Healed My Child’s Cavity
Busting the Beta Carotene Vitamin A Myth
Toddler’s Severe Tooth Decay Halted in 5 Days
Whiten Your Teeth Without Dangerous Chemicals
Resolving Periodontal Problems with Bone Broth
Coconut Oil Stops Strep Bacteria from Damaging Tooth Enamel
Your Dentist is Holistic?
Avoiding Root Canals
Could the Cause of Your Illness Be Right Under Your Nose?
Wisdom Tooth Extractions
My oldest has great straight teeth. My youngest had an accident and lost one of his front teeth, so we are kind of forced into treatment for him.
Lets not deny that genetics and selective reduction does occur
My oldest of 8 has been the only one so far to need braces for crowding. Her teeth were a mirror of my older brother’s. My diet hasn’t changed much until the last 4 years and my body was in it’s best shape when she was born. So my experience really doesn’t match this assertion. In my two that are 18 months apart, the younger definitley has a narrower jaw, but straight teeth.
eu tenho os dentes tortos mais minha dentista e de posto o que eu faço vou ne outra da cidade para ver se eu vou usar aparelho
I’d like to say that some of these comments scare me. Having a broad smile or broad face is not due “entirely” to diet. Nobody seems to talk about genetics. I read some comments mentioning the broad faces of farmers who work the field all day. I grew up in rural Michigan and it definitely does not hold true that farmers and people who eat this kind of diet all have broad faces and perfect teeth. I grew up eating very well, my Polish mom would bring me food constantly and I ate just about anything. My teeth came in slowly and are relatively small. While not terribly crooked, they weren’t great – so I have braces now at 28. And yes, thumb sucking definitely contributes to buck teeth – this is a well researched fact.
It seems to me that if you believe people with narrow faces or jaws are just not well nourished you’re being ignorant and prejudiced. It’s along the same lines as being racist.
Mike, it’s not racist at all. You can have a narrower face than the guy next to you without having crowding of teeth. Sometimes you can’t tell by the outside of the face whether there is room for the teeth to come in. Everyone wouldn’t look alike even if we have room for all of our teeth. But the fact is that crowded and crooked teeth are not normal, though common. They are due to nutritional deficiencies in pregnancy and formative years.
Carrie, that’s just not true. Have you done any research at all? Have you been outside of the USA? You would see that people don’t often have perfect teeth without braces. I was recently in Poland visiting family and trust me – they are as well-fed as any American minus the fast food. My aunt’s cooked good meals 3 times a day – it’s just what they do over there. Despite that, her kids don’t have perfect teeth. They don’t have bad teeth but definitely not perfect. It’s just the way it is. Like I said – thumb sucking and other habits contribute to buck teeth and other habits also contribute to messed up teeth. These are just facts and if you’re unwilling to take them into consideration you stand to face the consequences. I certainly wish the best for your kids’ teeth.
As a matter of fact, I have done lots of research into this topic making a decision in regards to my 11 year old’s health, and when I was a child I lived in Ireland.
I realize that oral habits like thumb sucking and the like contribute to maloclussion. My son never sucked his thumb. I feel that the biggest contributing factor in his teeth crowding is a) my experiments with vegetarianism after his birth (oh how I wish I could go back in time!) and b) he briefly had a habit of mouth breathing. These aren’t issues anymore for him.
Incidentally we saw a forward thinking Orthodontist today who is fitting him for an A.L.F! I am very happy about it. He says that most Orthodontists are “lazy” because they want to do extractions and braces.
I would trust a DDS who uses the ALF. Like Sarah said don’t blame yourself. I put my son in braces and ruined his face and function, now fixing it with orthotropics.Melinda RDH orofacial myofunctional therapist, NTP
Hi,
I have a narrow palate with all the symptoms that go along with it. I have had numerous permanent teeth removed, wisdom included, teeth grinding, headaches, sinus issues and neck alignment problems. I was not breastfed and grew up on the SAD diet. I am now in my thirties and would like to correct this issues. Would I benefit from dental/orthomuscular remedies? What avenues do I have? Thanks.
Emily,
I was just about to post this same exact thing. I have such a narrow jaw, that I was missing frontal secondary teeth and had to have a bridge put in when I was 26. I couldn’t have implants because my bone is so narrow in the front due to my narrow jaw. I gave birth to my son when I was 26 and because I had such a narrow pelvis, he had to be delivered by C-section. Had I known that my narrow jaw could correlate to a narrow pelvis, I probably would have been more well prepared for that c-section!! It was horrible. I was not breastfed for very long as an infant, and I know my mother’s health was poor when I was in gestation. I grind my teeth, I have headaches and neck alignment issues as well. I grew up on a healthier version of the SAD diet, Ie, no soda, very little white bread, but still ate many chemicals in my processed “healthier” foods. I am quickly transitioning to a very traditional diet, and considering even going primal/paleo with some traditional modifications. Anyway, I’d love to know if there is something I could do to change my health even more so.
I have spent the last 15 years researching ways to correct the rather severe health problems I have experienced as a result of the very bad diet I was fed as a child.. a diet that was so bad mainly because it was lacking in Vitamin D, which is found in animal fat…the sunlight cannot be converted to vitamin D in your body if you also are not eating fat in food. Lack of vitamin D is what makes your pelvis narrow and your teeth crooked. Anyway I have..Completely changed my appearance and state of health, both physical and mental, to the point that people often ask me if I have had plastic surgery done. Here is what it took me 15 years of experimentation and research to discover:
-Take Ox bile to help you digest fat and eat organic eggs and bacon every morning.
-Do not eat any grains, no wheat no gluten no corn no rice. Do not eat any dairy. Not even butter. The reason for these intolerances in the population today are due to issues with candida yeast caused by the very dangerous prescription of antibiotics.. As a result of taking antibiotics, most of the population cannot adequately digest gluten or casein and would benefit from giving up wheat and dairy. I know it sounds strange, yet it changed my life.
-Go tanning or move to a sunnier climate.
-Take probiotics.
-Take vitamin B12.
It’s inheritance that cause crooked teeth, as the fact stated above. Jaw could be identified since birth, to be sure about your oral a regular visit to your dentist is must.
Then why did the epidemic of crooked teeth only start after processed foods became popularized? You can’t have a genetic epidemic!
Your training has obviously blinded you to the obvious which is unfortunately an epidemic flaw in the medical professions. What about Dr. Weston A. Price DDS and all his painstaking research? Do you ignore the research of one of your own even?
none of my ancestors have crooked teeth or myopia;I have both…my childhood diet was based on refined/processed carbs,with lots of white flour and sugar…
In my research crooked teeth is caused by inheritance of oral and dental structures. Something we could do is either monitor your child’s teeth when he’s young and seek professional help. But as a mom, I really make sure that as early as possible he avoids junk foods and hopefully eat more veggies and fish.
Have you read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston A. Price DDS? If you haven’t, then your research is far from complete. Inheritance cannot cause crooked teeth as you can’t have a genetic epidemic and crooked teeth has only become widespread since the rise of processed foods in the diet.
My two cents:
Boys grow for a long time. Male’s bones often don’t stop growing until late mid 20s (some late 20s!!) My husband’s skeletal structure didn’t change shape from his deficiencies (quite round/squared to narrow and long) until his late teen years or later (he didn’t notice and not enough photos for more specific).
And my brother was quite small (like me) and narrow chinned until he went to Brazil and ate Natively for two years at 19-21. He came home bigger, more healthy proportioned, strong and a attractive (roommate-drooling-and-swooning-worthy) square head.
I wonder about the age that is too late – my 60 year old m-in-l’s teeth are till moving and growing (really! a corner one is longer than the others and it didn’t used to be!) and such…. More importantly I think that young people are still growing much longer than we realize. Nothing like not being able to put teeth back in to wish they hadn’t been taken out.
Thankfully my boys are still quite young and my second is starting to catch up – His lower half of his head is catching up with the top, His rib cage seems to be expanding (his tummy is not so large in proportion) and his overall structure doesn’t look so frail. We had some setbacks starting around the time of Halloween candy and spurts of sneaking treats for a few months, but I think he is starting to feel the blessings of making good choices and not choosing those other ‘drugs’! The youngest isn’t even two yet but loves to line up with his brothers to take his oils – he is definitely showing his strengths. 🙂
Explaining and explaining over and over again why we eat such and such for dinner and happily take such and such to the little guys so they can be informed and part of the decision-making is a great experience for them to be able to do so as adults as well.
Gigi – REALLY? I am so encouraged by your comment about your brother. My 11 year old has some mild crowding, and I am making changes to our already good diet to try to encourage his jaw to grow more. He is a gorgeous kid and doesn’t have that narrow, elongated face that you see in people with bad crowding and mouth breathing issues. So your comment gives me hope that his palate and jaw can expand a little to make more room for those incisors. 🙂
Nutrition is one important factor out of an infinite number. Some say life is simple, others complex. It’s easy for the majority of us to focus on a simple solution to try to answer the problem, and we would be wise to appreciate the value of good nutrition. However, there are many other factors in bone development, such as, “intrauterine muscle-induced mechanical loads in determining the three-dimensional morphology of developing bones.” {http://dev.biologists.org/content/138/15/3247.abstract}.
Nutrition plays a role as does the mother’s environment affecting her psychological position. Another study might claim that a mother’s thoughts affect the shape and size of the child’s jaw and I could agree with it.
A scientific study usually focuses on one aspect, no different than a nutrition website focusing on one topic, nutrition. Should we be so swift to condemn a study that does make some sense? Maybe it’s better to embrace it into our life and find a purpose for it rather than deny it?