Jaws

Despite the massive health hazard posed by obesity, even legislation simply designed to limit the size of sugary soft-drink bottles has proven difficult to pass

The Infanta Margarita Teresa of Spain shows normal facial development as a 5-year-old child in “Las Meninas,” painted in 1656 by Diego Velazquez (b, left). By the time Margarita was a young girl she had developed long face syndrome, as shown in a portrait painted between 1662 and 1664 by an anonymous artist (b, right).

Image 23. Poor oral posture may make previously “cute” children look less attractive as they grow older. (Courtesy of Dr. John Mew.)

Mouth breathing by your cute 5-year-old can lead to a 50-year old with crooked teeth, too little oxygen while sleeping, and perpetual exhaustion.

Image 20. One of the signs of airway trouble that parents should be alert to is a narrowing and deepening of roof of the mouth.

As you read this, are your upper and lower teeth in light contact, your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and your lips sealed?

A face that has small jaws indicates a likely restricted airway

The key point here is that all these habits are cumulative in their effects and generally correlated. So as you chew less hard foods, your jaw muscles get slack, and thus you hang your mouth open due to an underexercised and weakened jaw muscle.

The correct oral posture, the one that appears most conducive to jaw development, is (when not speaking or eating) holding the mouth closed with teeth in light contact and the tongue resting on the roof of the mouth (palate), as shown in

the tougher the food, the more you chew; the more you chew (especially when young), the more normal (and spacious) your jaws are