Did you know that human jaws were a perfect fit for human teeth before the agricultural revolution? Our hunter-gatherer ancestors had big, strong jaws to chew uncooked vegetables and meat, and their teeth were perfectly aligned. But with the arrival of farming and the switch to softer, cooked foods, our jaws started to shrink while our teeth remained the same size, leading to dental crowding and malocclusion. In this episode, we'll explore how these dietary changes and other factors such as physical activity led to major changes in human jaw structure, and how people throughout history have tried to straighten their teeth, from ancient times to modern-day orthodontics. Stay tuned for an enlightening journey through the evolution of human dental health.
Key Takeaways:
-Agricultural changes to our diet caused our jaws to become smaller, but our teeth remained the same size, leading to dental crowding and malocclusion.
-Fauchard and Bourdet published books on teeth straightening in the 1700s
-The development of lingual braces in the 1970s offered patients an invisible option for braces, but it took some time for American orthodontists to adopt the technique.
References:
https://www.belmarorthodontics.com/orthodontic-technology-of-our-time/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6833929/
http://www.archwired.com/HistoryofOrtho.htm
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-dawn-farming-changed-our-mouths-worst-180954167/