“Breath can be a medicine and mechanism through which we can capture superhuman like power” - James Nester
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Breath Lab is investigating how our faces have begun to deform. James Nesters' book Breath is a great read for dental patients and practitioners. Through his research of many shapes and sizes, James learns that today, our skulls are marked by high, narrow palates, short lower jaws, and often, insufficient space.
We all know that when children drop their baby teeth, there’s typically inadequate room for the adult teeth, which leads to crowding and misaligned teeth. Worst of all, this anatomy encourages mouth-breathing, which can, in turn, lead to under-the-radar sleep difficulties and a whole array of problems ranging from behavioral challenges, anxiety, and depression to cognitive issues. These conditions can be corrected through orthodontics, dentistry, myofunctional therapy, and even surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids.
The Boston Globe says,
“With his entertaining and well-timed new book, James Nestor explains the science behind proper breathing and how we can transform our lungs and our lives...The book is brisk and detailed, a well-written read that is always entertaining, as he melds the personal, the historical, and the scientific."
"After just a few months of obstructed nasal breathing, mouth breathing can change the physical body and transform airways for the worst. Inhaling air through the mouth decreases pressure which causes the soft tissues at the back of the mouth to become loose and flex inward..creating less space and making breathing more difficult.
Mouth breathing or oral respiration disrupts those muscle forces exerted by the tongue, cheeks, and lips upon the maxillary arch. Patients are found with the main characteristics of respiratory obstruction syndrome daily. The presence of hypertrophied tonsils or adenoids, mouth breathing, open-bite, cross-bite, excessive anterior face height, incompetent lip posture, the excessive appearance of maxillary anterior teeth, narrow external nares, "V" shaped maxillary arch.
Inhaling from the nose has the opposite effect.
It forces air against the tissues at the back of the throat making the airways wider and breathing easier. After a while, these tissues and muscles become toned to stay in the open and wide position.
None of this should come as a surprise. When seasonal allergies hit incidences of sleep apnea and other breathing difficulties shoot up. The nose gets stuffed up, we start mouth breathing, and the airways collapse. Sleeping exacerbates these issues. When we lay down at night, gravity pulls the soft tissue and tongue downward, closing off the airway even more, after a while our airways get conditioned to this position- snoring and sleep apnea become the new normal."
Jerry Rose, a dental anthropologist at the University of Arkansas, warned that a whole generation could be impacted if we don’t change course. “In evolution, there are winners and losers,” Rose said. We have to adapt, and adapt quickly, to our changing physiology — or risk the consequences.
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