Genetics versus Intercepted Heredity
Tooth decay is not a genetic condition. It is a factor of the environment, and usually the primary
environmental factor is poor nutrition. When nature cannot fulfill its ideal potential, we have a
situation called blocked or intercepted heredity. Crooked teeth and wisdom teeth that do not fit (as
well as over- and underbites) 
are not genetic traits
. These problems occur from the lack of proper
nutritional building blocks. Further documentation of this fact is available in Weston Price’s book,
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
. When our bodies lack the proper ingredients for building
bones or there is an alteration in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorous, our bodies will not be
perfectly formed to fulfill our hereditary potential. The structure and mineralization of our jaws and
teeth suffer as a result of deficiencies in our modern nutritional program. This is similar to the growth
of a plant in unfertile soil. The plant will not blossom to its full potential. To grow healthy teeth and
bones requires whole and unrefined foods carefully grown and prepared, and a diet high in fat-
soluble vitamins and phosphorus. Weston Price explains how the Aborigines of Australia had
perfectly developed jaws for untold generations until they changed their diet. It is most remarkable and should be one of the most challenging facts that can come to our modern
civilization that such primitive races as the Aborigines of Australia have reproduced for generation
after generation through many centuries — no one knows for how many thousands of years — without
the development of a conspicuous number of irregularities of the dental arches. Yet, in the next
generation after these people adopt the foods of the white man, a large percentage of the children
developed irregularities of the dental arches with conspicuous facial deformities. The deformity
patterns are similar to those seen in white civilizations. 2
Why Teeth are Crowded and Wisdom Teeth are Misaligned
When physical development is impeded primarily by a poor and deficient diet, Nature’s blueprint of
a fully developed maxilla (palate) and mandible (jaw) remains incomplete. As a result the maxilla
and mandible are not as wide as they need to be and there is not enough space for all of the teeth. When the teeth come in, they appear crowded. Therefore, there is no such thing as teeth that are too
big, but rather it is a jaw that is too small. This condition also makes wisdom teeth come in crooked,
or causes the roots of wisdom teeth to be impacted. Occlusion
: Occlusion is how our teeth come together when we chew and when our mouth is at rest. Healthy Bite and Misaligned BiteYour Bite and TMJ Pain, Night Grinding, and Tooth Decay
The trigeminal nerve is the largest nerve in your head. It has a network of fibers that run throughout
your face in an intricate matrix. The trigeminal nerve has three major branches: the mandibular (jaw)
nerve, the maxillary (upper palate) nerve, and the ophthalmic (eye) nerve. The trigeminal nerve
system fans throughout your entire face, and contains pain, position and movement (sensory and
motor) sensors and control mechanisms. The nerves of each tooth are connected to either the
manidibular or maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve. When you have a toothache, the nerve pain
goes right through the trigeminal nerve and communicates directly to your thalamus and cerebral
cortex. This explains why you feel tooth pain so very intensely. The trigeminal nerve connects with
our limbic brain which is related to emotions and mental functions. 3
 How you bite is directly
connected with how you feel. When your mouth closes, your jaw should be in a relaxed and comfortable position. The correct
positioning of the jaw and teeth is shown in both figure 
a
 and in the figure labeled 
occlusion
. In figure
a
, the molars naturally and comfortably touch on all surfaces when the jaw is in the closed, relaxed
position. When the back molars are touching comfortably, the body’s nervous system is sent a
constant signal of relaxation through the trigeminal nerve. Because of this nerve relaxation, a person
with contacting molars in the comfortable, relaxed position ages more slowly, heals faster, has a
positive outlook on life, and generally feels good. Take a moment and look in the mirror. You can see if your jaw is naturally in position 
a
. If it is not,
do not be surprised, as 95% or more of the population has a misaligned jaw. The term for a
misaligned bite is 
malocclusion
. When your jaw is misaligned the sensory system of the trigeminal
nerve is activated. 4
 A classic jaw misalignment is called a 
closed bite
. When the jaw hinges closed
through its natural motion as in figure 
b
, the molars do not touch. Rather the front teeth collide into
one another. This unfortunate circumstance resulted because the jaw bone did not develop to its full
potential, and the back molars are too low. Because either the upper back molars or lower ones did
not extend to their fullest potential, the jaw cannot relax in the neutral closed position as demonstrated
in figure 
a
. A closed and relaxed jaw as shown in the skull photographs and in figure 
a
 is especially important
during sleep. The body regenerates while we sleep. But if the molars are not comfortably touching, as
in figure 
b
, then side effects such as night time tooth grinding or clenching can occur. As the teeth
clench at night, if they are in positions 
b 
or 
c 
they can easily become worn down and overly stressed
since the molars are not comfortably supporting the mouth. This is exactly why teeth become infected
and eroded. This situation can also be associated with snoring and loss of fully restful sleep. What also happens in the condition illustrated by figure 
b
 is the body’s sensory nervous system
receives messages through the trigeminal nerve to the brain that the jaw is not relaxed. The body then
tries to make the molars contact one another to find the relaxed and natural position. Yet in order for
the body to find a natural biting position and for the molars to touch as they were designed to, the jaw
must hinge backwards and upwards as shown in figure 
c.
 Since the body seeks relaxation, and since
chewing and eating require the front teeth to avoid colliding while the molars grind food, what
happens is that the jaw must hinge in a forced manner to compensate. While the jaw joint is capableof sliding forward and backward, it is not supposed to slide backward all the time. In figure 
c
 you see
the final 
closed bite
 position; the molars are touching now, but the jaw is jammed backwards. At the
same time, the front teeth may be contacting each other wrongly and wearing down. Over time, the
hinging of the jaw in the unnatural position overly strains the thin friction disk in the
temporomandibular joint, and there is pain, popping, and cracking on the light end of the symptom
scale. The worst thing about this common condition is that the body rarely or never is able to
completely relax, heal and regenerate. Instead there is a constant experience of tension. Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF) and Cavities
Some people experience tooth pain when exposed to electro-magnetic fields such as from a television
or a computer monitor. The connection between our nervous system and our teeth could explain why
this happens. Root Canals, Tooth Infections and Your Bite
A significant proportion of tooth infections have at their source a usually unrecognized component of
bite dysfunction. Nighttime clenching and daytime stress from the molars not comfortably touching
cause strain on specific teeth depending on how the jaw is misaligned. Nighttime clenching is also
one of the main causes of abfractions—gum line ridges and sensitivity of teeth caused by relentless
stresses from the jaw pressures that wear them down. When the jaw cannot comfortably close as in figures 
b 
and
 c 
then certain teeth can become severely
worn or traumatized. The body has a hard time healing those specific teeth because they are
constantly being bruised, and these are the exact teeth that become painful and infected. A poor bite is
one of the main reasons why people develop tooth infections. The “Feel Good” Substance P
Neuropeptides are a type of molecule our nervous system uses to communicate. Substance P
 is a
neuropeptide that stimulates inflammation and also functions in the transmission of pain signals within
the nervous system. So when you have a toothache, there is a marked increase in substance P. If you
have an injury in your body, amounts of substance P increase near the injury site. After substance P is
released from your nerves it lingers in your body for a while. 5
The trigeminal nerve has such a high density of pain fibers that it can have a dramatic effect on the
substance P levels in your body. Substance P is actually good for us. It stimulates cell growth and
promotes wound healing. 6
 But when someone’s bite is out of alignment such as shown in figure 
c
 then
the trigeminal nerve which is laced throughout the mandible (jaw) releases pain signals through
substance P in large amounts. Perhaps this happens because the body correlates the jaw misalignment
with a physical injury. The constant release of substance P from the trigeminal nerve over time causes
our sensory system to become over stimulated or hyperactive. This then substantially reduces our
body’s ability to send substance P to the parts of our body that require healing and regeneration. Therefore when our bite is out of alignment we heal more slowly. Too much substance P in the system
leads to a burned out nervous system. It can cause hyperactivity in children. Excess substance P frombite imbalances leads to hypersensitivity to touch, smells, light, and loud noises as well as to general
irritability. 7
 Disease conditions that respond well to jaw alignment include fibromyalgia, irritable
bowel syndrome, autism, asthma, and all of the autoimmune disorders. When your jaw is relaxed, then substance P is not being overly released because your jaw is aligned. Substance P then can do its job to help heal and regenerate all the parts of your body. A relaxed jaw
from a correct bite makes your body relaxed and your body rejuvenates itself. A relaxed bite keeps us
youthful, helps us heal well, and have strength and energy when we need it. This is the power of your
bite. Your Bite and Your Vitality
The excess of substance P released from a bad bite in part explains why neurological and physical
function usually improve dramatically when the jaw is in the relaxed and neutral position as seen in
figure 
a. Mouth guards that improve the strength and vitality of athletes move the jaw into a more
biologically correct position. The body senses through the trigeminal nerve that everything is in
alignment, the nervous system relaxes, and the body functions more optimally. 8
 As a result, strength,
endurance, and reaction times increase. There are early studies that indicate that jaw clenching and
chewing have an anti-stress effect and are stress coping mechanisms, provided the bite is correct. 9
How TMJ and Bite Affect Cavities, Tooth Infections and Toothaches
When your bite is out of alignment, your body receives pain signals via substance P. A misaligned
bite affects cavities and tooth pain in three ways. First, the nervous system of the jaw is hyper
stimulated which inhibits the natural healing response of the body to mend damaged teeth. Second,
when the bite is out of balance, specific teeth become overly stressed from the mechanical forces of
the jaw. Third, with a bad bite, the trigeminal nerve becomes hypersensitive. With these conditions a
toothache will hurt much more than it normally should. What this means for you is that if you have a
tooth ache, or tooth infection, then any types of body therapy you can do to relax the stresses on your
nervous system, particularly the trigeminal nerve, can dramatically impact the health of your teeth. Perhaps half or more of tooth infections and tooth pain can be healed simply by helping the jaw relax
and by moving the bite into a more correct position. Profound Effects of TMJ Dysfunction and a Bad Bite
TMJ dysfunction (TMD) can present symptoms such as pain behind eyes, difficulty opening and
closing the mouth, ringing in ears, tooth grinding, over clenching, worn teeth, headaches and even
vision problems. If the jaw is allowed to hinge normally and does not need to be forced into the
closed bite position as shown in figure 
c
 then the TMD symptoms can resolve if the joint is not
excessively damaged. The method of resolution of TMD is usually some type of dental appliance
which helps the jaw function correctly. Pain with TMD is caused by overwork of the nervous and muscular systems as they must function in
an unnatural manner to bring the teeth together for chewing and the natural jaw clenching position. Over time the muscles fatigue, become strained, and can lead to pain in the jaw, the back of the neck,head and ears. 10
The hyper stimulated nervous system has some surprising side effects. For example, orthopedic
orthodontist Dr. Brendan Stack believes that the basis of most of the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome
is essentially a misalignment of the mandible to the base of the skull. By correcting the position of the
jaw with a dental appliance, the eye blinking, eyelid tics, mouth tics, head nodding, shoulder
shrugging and head tremors disappear. Dr. Stack has videos on his website that appear to depict
miracles. Yet the amazing recoveries are based on a correct understanding of how the jaw and cranial
system were meant to function. You can see immobilized people walking again within minutes at
www.tmjstack.com
Many diseases, particularly neurological diseases like autism, have a significant symptom component
in that the bite of the afflicted individual is severely compromised. Symptoms of a severely
misaligned bite are a crooked face, improper facial growth, the mouth hanging open, tongue sticking
out, and a very poor posture. Not all bite misalignments are that obvious. An imbalance of as little as
1/8 of an inch can cause malocclusion and health problems. 11
 Treating and resolving diseases that
have nervous system components can require a therapeutic correction of the bite. Unfortunately the
connection between neurological diseases and the bite is often completely overlooked.Orthodontics
Now we will learn why braces are generally unnecessary and in fact harmful. First, two definitions:
Orthodontics
 is the practice of forcing teeth to appear to be in alignment using non-removable dental
appliances such as braces. Dental Orthopedics
 is a medical model that focuses on the structure and alignment of the cranial
bones, with the intent to align the jaw towards its normal developmental state. “Functional
orthodontics” is another name for this modality. Many people have chosen orthodontics, which is a means of making their teeth to appear straight,
when they really wanted orthopedics, which is the correction of physical development to a normal
and healthy state. These terms lead to a great deal of confusion because there are conventional
orthodontists, orthodontist-orthopedists, and dental orthopedists. For clarity I will refer to
practitioners who only look at making teeth straight, and who take a mechanistic approach that works
against the normal function of the body as conventional orthodontists. Orthopedists are dental
practitioners who align the bite, even though some orthopedists may also call themselves
orthodontists. Dental orthopedics is the art form of reconstructing bites with dental appliances. This entails more
than merely a mechanical process, but involves an artistic non-surgical cranial reconstruction. Conventional orthodontics is a mechanistic system that does not consider the normal developmental
model of the body. I, like many others, have experienced negative outcomes from conventional orthodontics. When I was
young, my jaw was in the position as shown in figure 
c, 
also referred to as an overbite. Because the
goal of conventional orthodontists (who practice orthodontics, not orthopedics) is to make teeth
straight, without even necessarily making them contact properly, their simplified approach is to make
your teeth straight BY ANY MEANS NECCESSARY. The conventional orthodontist believes that the
jaws are stuck in one position and cannot move. At best, all an orthodontist sees is what is shown in
the figure labeled 
occlusion:
 a row of teeth. The orthodontist, like the conventional dentist, also sees
a row of money. I remember my orthodontist had nice pictures on his office wall of his mansion, and
of his family’s many vacations to Hawaii. The conventional orthodontic approach was designed as a
business model and is an easy and convenient way to move through many patients in an assembly-line
fashion. In the process, the conventional orthodontist rakes in large profits while ignorantly thwarting
the normal developmental processes of the body. In order to make the teeth straight and my jaw look a certain way (or to get my teeth to touch in a
certain way; the goal was never made clear to me), by any means necessary, I was required to wear a
headgear. The theory (wrongly) goes that when children are growing (I was eight) pushing the maxilla
(upper palate) against its natural growth direction with a tortuous device called a headgear that is
worn nightly, will cause the mandible (the jaw) to catch up. And then the hope is that the teeth will
touch correctly (occlusion). So the fairytale goes, and everyone will be happy, and the orthodontist
will get his $5,000.Fifteen years later, however, at the age of 23, my teeth did not touch at all naturally. I developed TMJ
dysfunction (TMD) by the time I was 30 years old, my lower teeth became very crooked, and my jaw
never moved forward the way it was supposed to according to the treatment protocol. The
conventional orthodontist’s model of arresting the development of the maxilla is misguided since the
body rarely or never overgrows a part of itself, rather other parts of the body do not grow fully so the
maxilla appears to protrude, but it is really normal. The results of two years of torture for me as a child were a lot of money spent, but no positive
outcome. I know many other people who have gone through similar treatment, and have similar TMD
and other serious problems to show for it. The problems get worse over time because our jaw
continues to grow, or imbalances get worse, meanwhile the TMJ joint wears out. Many people do not
figure out that they have TMD until, sadly, the entire joint is nearly worn out. I am lucky in a way. I
have spent so much time researching dental problems that my research kept me focusing on my bite,
and I finally realized my body was in a constant state of stress because my molars did not touch
properly. Don’t worry if this sounds like your situation; I will explain how to treat this problem
shortly. Dental Orthopedics Focuses on Normal Development
Conventional orthodontics pursues the wrong goal, which is to make teeth straight BY ANY MEANS
NECESSARY. However, to create a healthy bite, the jaw and cranium must be aligned in natural
position and size. This is the goal of dental orthopedics. If you have a closed bite as illustrated in
figure 
c
, the orthopedic treatment might include insertion of a dental appliance which has a plastic
spacer that sits on top of the molars, such as a twin block or an OmNi-2. This is seen in the figure
where the bite height is restored with a plastic spacer. This allows the jaw to stay comfortably closed
in a natural position even though the molars do not naturally touch. What is amazing about the use of
such an appliance is that when there is a space such that certain molars do not touch, the molars start
to get closer together as the jaw bone grows in under the molars. Eventually over a treatment period
of eighteen months to three years all of the molars can be guided to meet each other, and the correct
functional bite height can be retained without further need of a dental appliance.Conventional Orthodontic Practices Damage Faces
Conventional orthodontic practices damage facial aesthetics. 12
 They also damage the functionality of
the bite as seen in many cases of TMD from just a small informal survey of people who have
undergone conventional orthodontic treatment. The most damaging aspects of orthodontics are tooth
extractions and head gear. Many patients or parents are not adequately informed about the dangers of conventional orthodontics
prior to treatment. 13
 In particular the resorption of tooth roots is a common and sometimes highly
damaging result of wearing braces. Root resorption is the loss or damage to the tooth root from the
pulling force of braces. When you move teeth with braces, a tooth does not simply slide into the next
position. The figure of the tooth in chapter three shows how the tooth is surrounded by bone. To move
a tooth, the braces pull the teeth and the tooth is pushed into the alveolar bone. This is something akin
to a boat traveling through thick ice. As the tooth is pushed in one direction, the bone in the jaw must
dissolve on one end of the tooth and fill in on the other side of the tooth for the tooth to move. When
the tooth roots are pushed against the jaw bone with fixed dental appliances like braces, 93% of them
are damaged; some severely. 14
 Approximately 72-84% of teeth that have been treated with a fixed
appliance (braces) have suffered clinically significant damage. 15
 As a result many teeth suffer
permanent damage from braces. Gum disease later in life, in combination with roots that are damaged
from braces and are therefore much shorter, means early tooth loss. Standard consent and disclaimer
forms that patients must sign before accepting braces as treatment explain the known harm caused by
braces. They include jaw pain (from the bite being pulled out of alignment), root resorption, tooth or
jaw instability, fleeting results due to physical growth, gum inflammation, and unexpected results. Meanwhile, in the orthopedic model you will suffer none of these side effects because the dental
orthopedic model works with the natural form of the body, helping it function and grow properly. If you put braces on the teeth of a growing child, and do not even try to move or push teeth, as the
child’s jaw grows, his teeth are going to move in the jaw bone. Root resorption is worse in older
children than in younger children. 16
Bicuspid Extraction
Bicuspid extraction performed by conventional orthodontics on children and teens collapses the
structure of the face, making the face more narrow and less attractive. This unfortunate result has been
shown in studies comparing differing orthodontic approaches with identical twins. Over time, the
twin whose teeth were not extracted, but whose dental arch was widened instead, developed the more
attractive facial features. Bicuspid extraction sacrifices perfectly healthy and beautiful teeth to the
faulty goals of conventional orthodontics. 17
 Not to mention the fact that pulling teeth can cause
emotional trauma as children feel that they have been disfigured or that there is something wrong with
them. Orthodontics Does Not Address the Physiological Cause of Crooked TeethCrooked teeth are the result of a maxilla (upper palate) that is too narrow. 18
 This leads to a child
having a more narrow face and less appealing looks. Practically speaking a wider face means more
space for the tongue, and a greater ease in breathing, along with plenty of space for all of the teeth
including the wisdom teeth. What conventional orthodontics does is make space for teeth by pushing
the teeth, rather than by encouraging the jaw to develop to its full potential, which is the orthopedic
approach. In their drive to make teeth fit, conventional orthodontists pull out teeth. Yet extracting teeth
has led to noticeably altered facial features to the patient’s detriment. 19
 The other conventional
method for making all of the teeth fit besides extractions is to fan them out forward. Part of the
problem with the bite in an individual with an overbite (closed bite), is not enough height in the
molars for the jaw to swing forward naturally and to have the molars comfortably touch. When the
teeth are fanned out with braces, the back molars stay at the same low height, and then the height of
the front teeth is also lowered by being rocked outward. Rather than working with the correct therapeutic model as described earlier and the natural growth
direction of the body, conventional orthodontics works against it. Rather than bringing the jaw
forward, conventional orthodontics pushes the maxilla (upper palate) back and compounds the
problem and further prevents the mandible (jaw) from growing. 20
 Conventional orthodontics lowers
the height of teeth that do not need to be lowered, removes teeth that are perfectly beautiful and
healthy, pushes teeth into the jaw bone and causes their roots to shorten. To say that conventional
orthodontics is a massive disaster would be a grave understatement. The wires in orthodontic appliances contain nickel and can cause personality changes such as a lack
of affection and lowered intelligence. Homeopathic remedies for nickel poisoning can resolve this
situation.Functional Orthopedics
The good news is that nearly every problem with orthodontics can be corrected to some degree with
orthopedics. Finding a practitioner who understands all of the aspects and integrative care required
for dental orthopedic changes can be difficult since dental orthopedics requires the specialty of three
or more areas of expertise. As a result, the combination of a dentist who practices orthopedics along
with physical therapies is required for the best treatment outcomes. Dental orthopedics requires not
just an understanding of, but the physical manipulation of the cranial bones, the jaw bones, the TMJ
joint, the fascia which is a fibrous tissue that surrounds muscles, nerves, and the 
dura mater
 which
surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The younger the patient, and the less severe the imbalance, the
less expertise is going to be required from multiple fields to produce a successful result. Craniopathy
Craniopathy has its origins in an old system of chiropractic work. When we breathe, the bones in our
head actually breathe and expand. The human head contains a set of 23 interlocking bones. There are
eight cranial bones and fourteen facial bones. When we are born, many of us have slight imbalances
in the bones of our body, particularly the cranial bones. This creates a cranial birth distortion. Over
time these distortions, or bone malformations in the cranium or cervical vertebrae, can lead to bite
distortions, particularly left/right imbalances where one side of the jaw develops more fully than the
other. Injuries and other traumas in life can also cause cranial bones to become stuck, which over
time can cause physiological problems. The other important understanding with relation to braces or any functional orthopedic appliance
therapy is that every time you move even one tooth, some or all of the 23 cranial bones are going to
move with it. This is because the tooth is attached to our jaw bone. The 
dura mater
 and fascia also
move when teeth are moved. The net result of the interconnection of cranial bones and teeth is that it is possible to go through an
entire round of orthopedics or orthodontics and have the jaw and bite function perfectly, but still have
a distorted cranial system. If the distorted cranial system in that situation is fixed by a craniopath who
moves cranial bones, then the interlocking bones of the skull will move the bite back out of position,
and the dental treatment will need to be redone. The moral of this story is that any work done on the
teeth to correct bite imbalances must involve substantial additional therapies to maintain the
alignment of the cranial bones. You can find certified craniopaths at the Sacro Occipital Research
Society International 
www.sorsi.com
Jaw Alignment through Body Work
There are several modalities to help your jaw, head and bite all feel more comfortable and function
more correctly. Amazingly, each modality which I present here, which I have experienced personally,
has a unique perspective on what is important. Each modality generally completely misses something
that a practitioner from another modality feels is important. For example, after seeing several experts
including an osteopath, several chiropractors from different modalities, and two different cranial
sacral therapists, none of them discovered a simple fact that my TMJ joint on the left side wasjammed. The next chiropractor I saw, a craniopath, was able to release the locked joint in one or two
quick adjustments. 21
 While I believe that all these different modalities can learn from one another,
and that the specialties could all be involved and enhanced, the reality is most practitioners do not
see anything close to the entire picture, and unfortunately many are closed-minded and mired in
limiting belief systems even when they offer excellent therapeutic treatments. The first step to functional orthopedics is nearly always to have body work treatments done. This is
my opinion. This is not any official recommendation from any organization. The more treatments, the
better. I received body work treatments with a craniopath, a directional non-force chiropractor, and a
biodynamic osteopath for about 8 months before getting a dental appliance. 22
 I kept receiving the
treatments until I would hit a wall in which the treatments were no longer helpful because I needed
extra support for my bite from a dental appliance. There are of course other body work modalities
and forms of chiropractic work not mentioned here that may help or even completely heal any bite
dysfunction. www.cranialacademy.org
 – Osteopaths who specialize in the cranial field. www.nonforce.com
 – directional non-force chiropractic, especially good with aligning
vertebrae. www.myofascialrelease.com
 – focuses on releasing tension in the fascia, many Rolfers also
work with the fascia. Functional Appliances and Practitioners
When I first started searching dentists or functional orthodontists to help correct my bite, I was
focused on finding a practitioner who used a specific appliance. This was the wrong way to approach
the problem. Dental orthopedics is an art form. You want to search for a functional orthopedist who
knows how to use his tools. Having a good saw or a fast drill does not make a good handyman (or a
good dentist). Likewise, using a highly reputed technology for bite correction does not necessarily
mean the practitioner understands the bite. It is hard to explain this until you actually see it in action. The best of the best functional orthopedists are superlative because they know how to use their tools
to produce a result, not because their tools are necessarily advanced or special. Unfortunately,
without substantial background education in chiropractic care, physical therapy, craniopathy and
osteopathy, dentists are very poorly equipped to correct bite dysfunctions because they never learned
how the body functions as a complete organism. They have not been taught how to check for and
repair functionality by physically manipulating the patient’s body. For example, a chiropractor might
muscle test the patient and check for indicators for certain misaligned bones. The chiropractor then
adjusts the body accordingly and the bones are realigned. Without having direct hands-on access to
the body and without a chiropractor’s or osteopath’s training in bodywork, the conventional dentist is,
in a way, working in the dark. Nothing like this is currently taught in dental school. Conversely,
chiropractors and osteopaths are limited in their ability to correct the cranial system and bite of the
individual because they have little or no training in orthopedic appliances to overcome physiological
obstacles. The best treatment modalities available therefore are the ones in which the dentist workssimultaneously or in close proximity with a cranial expert such as an osteopath. This means literally
that an osteopath will be in the office, working with the dentist, helping the dentist fine tune the dental
appliance to the patient. This ensures that the dental appliance fits in a way that is beneficial for the
patient’s body. Without the supplemental bodywork treatments, patients can develop chronic tension
and pain as their bodies struggle to adapt to the appliance. Functional Dental Appliance Goals
My opinion is that the healthiest and most ideal correction of bite imbalances involves correcting
both the height and the width of the bite. The improvement in height and width is in harmony with our
therapeutic model of the skulls that show fuller dental arch development. The correct bite height
allows the jaw to come forward into the position where the front teeth are completely aligned and
with the molars comfortably touching, as demonstrated in figure 
a. The correct bite width widens the
maxilla and mandible to allow all of the teeth to fit, including the wisdom teeth. Some critics
complain that bite height correction is wrong because it makes the face too long. However if you
combine height with width, then the face will look balanced and the head and body will function in a
healthier way. Most of the dental orthopedic work done with children focuses on widening the bite, which is very
important but such an approach usually ignores the vertical height aspect. If a child had pretty good
vertical height to begin with, as in a minor overbite, then they will have a highly successful outcome
from jaw expansion. Children with more severe overbites in which the molar height is more of an
issue, will have a less ideal outcome from only expanding the jaw. Finding a Functional Orthopedist
You need to be careful as there are some pretty bad functional orthopedists out there, and some
appliances that do not work with the natural structure of the body. Even though their treatment
paradigm is more correct than conventional orthodontists, you can still suffer from bad treatment
outcomes. Too much widening of the jaw, widening the jaw at the wrong rate, or widening at the
wrong spot, can all destabilize the cranial system. It is important that the practitioner understands
their tools and their art form, and that they are not just using some appliance after a 40-hour training
course. Another key to finding a good functional orthopedist is by looking at their treatment outcomes. Do the faces of their patients exhibit aesthetic harmony? Do they look relaxed and natural? Unfortunately there are very few good functional orthopedists, and many times people must travel
great distances to see the few good ones available. If your search is long, frustrating, or you do not
feel comfortable with the practitioner, you are not alone; it can be a difficult process. www.alforthodontics.com
 – Advanced Lightwire Functional(ALF) practitioners, some of them
work together with osteopaths. www.aago.com
 - American Academy of Gnathologic Orthopedics. www.aacfp.org
 – American Academy of Cranial Facial Pain. www.orthotropics.com
 – Orthotropics, natural growth guidance.There is also a very interesting new appliance that not many practitioners yet use, called Splint
Orthodontic Myofunctional Appliance (SOMA) 
www.wholisticdentistry.com.au
The End of Braces
Braces are good for rotating teeth which may be twisted and facing the wrong direction, but they are
not good tools to widen the jaw. Crooked teeth exist in a mouth that needs more space. When the
space is provided through expansion with a functional appliance they will usually straighten on their
own. This is working with the body, rather than coercing the teeth to move where the conventional
orthodontist thinks the teeth should be. There are some orthodontists who combine dental arch
expansion with braces. Some of the case outcomes from some of these practitioners look acceptable. As I said, it is the skill and understanding of the practitioner more than the appliances used that makes
the crucial difference. But there are many more elegant solutions than using braces for nearly every
type of orthodontic work. The Wisdom of Keeping Your Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are important. They were not put there by accident. As food slides back towards the
swallowing position, the back molars chew and crush food. Since wisdom teeth are our third molars,
not having wisdom teeth is like losing 25-33% of the chewing surface which you were designed to
have. The locations where wisdom teeth were extracted (cavitations) very often become sites for
hidden infections. With dental arch widening, most wisdom teeth can be saved by making space for them with a
functional dental appliance. The concept of minimally invasive dentistry is to perform the least
amount of surgery, and therefore cause the least amount of trauma, to the jaw and the mouth. Pulling
teeth of any kind is not a wise choice, unless there is a severe health-threatening tooth infection, or
unrepairable disturbance caused by the wisdom teeth. Just leaving wisdom teeth in there, if there is
not enough space for them, may put unnecessary pressure on your trigeminal nerve. When you choose
to keep your wisdom teeth, if there is some crowding which is highly common, it would be a good
idea to monitor how their roots are growing or expand the jaw to make sure they fit. There are cases in which removing wisdom teeth seems to be medically required, but usually
expanding the jaw is a more prudent approach. It definitely requires more effort and commitment to
go through jaw expansion, than just pulling the wisdom teeth out with surgery. Keeping your wisdom
teeth will help maintain your ability to chew food, the structure of your face, and your vitality.Regaining Your Dental Health
My understanding of bite and how to treat one that is misaligned is a work in progress. Likewise the
field of functional orthopedics is an evolving discipline that still has many blind spots and room for
growth. The potential for correcting imperfect bites is vast, and the improvements in health and
vitality when done properly are well worth it. Our bite is connected to nearly every disease process
in the body because of how our nervous system is affected by a poor bite. Like conventional dentistry,
conventional orthodontics has failed us miserably. Many times, conventional orthodontics has turned
bad dental conditions into worse ones by working against the physiology and natural growth of the
body. Your bite changes how you look. It separates super athletes from mundane individuals because of its
effects on the nervous system. Your bite, when it functions properly, can help your teeth remineralize,
and it can destroy teeth when it is misaligned. The status of one’s bite can be the difference between a
vigorous life filled with health and immunity to almost any disease, and a life plagued with
discomfort and illness. Chapter 9 References
1
 Price, W. A. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration 6th Edition. La Mesa: Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation; 2004: op. cit., Chapter
2. 2
 op. cit., p. 174. 3
 substance P." 
Northern California Cranio-facial Diagnostic Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <
http://www.dentalphysician.com/www07/substance_P.html>
4
 Jennnings, Dwight. "medparadigm." Northern California Cranio-facial Diagnostic Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <
http://www.dentalphysician.com/www07/assmedparadigm.html>. 5
 Mechanisms of pain arising from the tooth pulp." School of Clinical Dentistry
. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/dentalschool/research/groups/neuroscience/pain.html>
6
 substance P." 
Northern California Cranio-facial Diagnostic Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <
http://www.dentalphysician.com/www07/substance_P.html>
7
 Jennnings, Dwight. "medparadigm." Northern California Cranio-facial Diagnostic Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. <
http://www.dentalphysician.com/www07/hyperactivity.html >. 8
 Roettger, Mark. Performance Enhancement and Oral Appliances. A supplement to Compendium, Continuing Education in
Dentistry
.Aegis Publications, Newtown 2009:4. 9
 Dr. Dwight Jennings, <www.dentalphysician.com>
10
 Orthodontics - Dr. Brendand C. Stack, 
Dr. Stack - TMJ Pain, TMD Pain
. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. <http://www.tmjstack.com/ortho.htm>. 11
 Jennings, Dwight. "selfassessment." Northern California Cranio-facial Diagnostic Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. <
http://www.dentalphysician.com/www07/assselfassessment.html>
12
 Mew, John. "Facial Changes in Identical Twins Treated by Different Orthodontic Techniques." World Journal of Orthodontics
 8.2
(2007): 175-88. Print. 13
 Ernst S, Elliot T, Patel A, Sigalas D, Llandro H, Sandy J R and Ireland J. Consent to orthodontic treatment - is it working? BDJ
 2007. 202:616-617. 14
 Kurol,J., Owman-Moll,P and Lundgren,D. 1996. "Time related root resorption after application of a controlled continuous orthodontic
force". American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
. 110: 303-310. 15
 Mohandesan H, Ravanmehr H and Valaei N. 2007. A radiographic analysis of external apical root resorption of maxillary incisors
during active orthodontic treatment. European Journal of Orthodontics
 29: 134-139. 16
 Mavragani M, Bfbe O E, Wisth P J and Selvig  K A. 2002. Changes in root length during orthodontic treatment: advantages for
immature teeth. European Journal of Orthodontics
. 24: 90-97. 80. 17
 Guyenet., Stephan. "Whole Health Source: Malocclusion: Disease of Civilization, Part IX." Whole Health Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 5
Oct. 2010. <http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/12/malocclusion-disease-of-civilization.html>. 18
 Alarashi, M, Franchi, L;Marinelli Andrea, and Defraia B. 2003. Morphometric Analysis of the Transverse Dentoskeletal Features of
Class 11 Malocclusion in the Mixed Dentition. Angle Orthod
 73:21-25.19
 Mew, John. "Facial Changes in Identical Twins Treated by Different Orthodontic Techniques." World Journal of Orthodontics
 8.2
(2007): 175-88. Print. 20
 YouTube ." Dr John Mew on Dispatches 
. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2010. < http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=pe7OI-
PdTno&videos=MDItX4uj6WU&feature=BF>. 21
 The craniopath I see, is Dr. Tom Bloink, drbloink.cacranialinstitute.com
22
 I have a twin block with a crozat from Dr. Dwight Jennings, www.dentalphysician.com* * *Chapter 10
Your Teeth Can Heal Naturally! The Evidence and Proof That Cavities can Remineralize and Heal
Dr. Price writes regarding the x-rays on the next pages:
The pulp chambers and pulp tissues of the root canals are shown as dark streaks in the
center of the tooth. The very large cavities that had decalcified the tooth to the pulp
chamber are shown as large dark areas in the crown. Temporary fillings had to be
placed because of pain produced by the pressure of food on the pulp below the decayed
dentine. After the nutrition was improved, the tissues of the pulp built in secondary
dentine thus reincasing itself in a closed chamber. 1
Dr. Price writes of the ability of teeth to remineralize as a natural result of a diet high in vitamins and
minerals:
[A] progressive filling in of the pulp chambers can be noted from the deposition of
secondary dentine, making a roof over the pulp and thereby providing a protection
which enabled the pulp to remain vital and useful for an extended period. This is
frequently experienced as a result of reinforcing the diet with high-vitamin and high-
activator butter, together with reducing the carbohydrate intake to a normal level as
supplied by natural foods and by increasing the foods that provide body-building and
tooth-forming minerals, 
in many cases a hard and even glassy surface resulting
. 2
(Emphasis added.) Tooth before Nutrition TreatmentCopyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, www.ppnf.org
Tooth and after Nutrition TreatmentCopyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, www.ppnf.org
When the nutrition is adequately improved, nature can close an exposure of the pulp
(due to dental caries) by building a protecting wall within the pulp chamber
 . 3
Child’s permanent molar before nutritional programCopyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, www.ppnf.org
(above)This is a decayed tooth of a child who is at the age where new teeth are coming in. This is
prior to a nutritional program. The tooth is a first permanent molar. You can see the dark spot which
is the large cavity. The pulp is exposed to the mouth environment, creating pain while chewing. Child's permanent molar after nutritional program
Copyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, www.ppnf.org
(Above) This is the same tooth after a period of nutritional treatment. (Dr. Price did not specify the
exact length of time but mentions that the test periods were usually three to five months.) Notice how
the new dentin now covers the pulp chamber of the tooth. Dr. Price also shared an example of a 14-year-old girl whose dentist recommended the removal of all
of her teeth. After 7 months of a special nutritional program, her teeth were saved and none were
removed. (In this case, cosmetic restorations and 4 root canals were still done even though the teeth
were saved.) The Inuit people characteristically wore their teeth down as a natural artifact of living their lives, as
you can see in the photograph. This wear did not result from tooth decay, but from chewing leather to
soften it, and from regularly eating fish and other meat that had collected small bits of sand and grit
from being dried in the wind. Due to their excellent diet, the Inuit’s teeth constantly repair themselves,
such that the pulp chambers and the nerves of the tooth are very well protected. This repair
mechanism is not evident in Inuits who abandon their natural diet and switch to one consisting of the
foods of modern commerce. Copyright © Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, www.ppnf.org
Typical native Alaskan Eskimo. Note the broad face and broad arches and no dental caries. 4
 (
Original caption.) This image serves as further evidence that under excellent nutritional circumstances teeth will rebuild
and protect themselves – this is Nature’s design.Curing Tooth Decay — Parting Words
In several examples throughout this book we have demonstrated that tooth decay is not a result of
faulty genetics. Rather, it is primarily the result of the type of food we eat, and the poor management
of our body’s ecology. Proper health is usually restored to the body through a healing diet, such as a
diet based on that of healthy indigenous peoples across the globe. We can reclaim our immunity to
tooth decay now and gain other benefits along the way, such as increased overall health, strength, and
vitality. I may have convinced you to begin to take more responsibility for your health and lifestyle habits. And I hope that I have convinced you of the true cause of tooth decay ¾ a deficiency of nutrients, not a
lack of fluoride or brushing. Here are my suggestions for how to begin practicing these habits:
 
Align yourself with your intention for health, for the highest good for yourself and for your
community. Remind yourself of this several times a day if possible. Purchase a good cookbook or two to help you prepare healthy meals. The book 
Nourishing
Traditions
 by Sally Fallon contains scores of whole-food based recipes, and for those who like
raw animal foods I recommend the book 
The Recipe for Living Without Disease
 by Aajonus
Vonderplanitz. Locate dependable sources for special foods (such as yellow butter, raw milk, liver and bone
marrow from grass-fed animals, whole fish including the head and some organs, oysters and so
on). Eliminate foods on the “avoid list,” and begin to replace them with whole-food alternatives as
described in the complete tooth decay healing protocol. Get Support
To make changes in your diet and improve your health, get additional support. Support can come from
a good dentist, a good alternative health practitioner, and/or from friends or family members who
regularly eat healthy foods. In particular the Weston A. Price Foundation offers support on finding
farm-fresh food, and you can meet people who are cooking in healthier ways. Find your local chapter
at: 
www.westonaprice.org/find-a-local-chapter
Support with Specific Dental Issues
Please keep in mind that my expertise is in healing and preventing cavities naturally with nutrition. If
you have a difficult or painful tooth, I have offered you the best available information on how to heal
teeth naturally in this book. My general advice is to take a two-pronged approach to improve your
diet as best as you can, and to consult with an excellent dentist on whether specifically damaged teeth
need dental treatments, and what type of treatments would be best. Resources in finding an excellent
dentist are given in the dentistry chapter. I cannot replace the practical hands-on experience of a good
dentist who is required to perform the treatment. Some dentists from my resource page will offer
phone consultations for advice on dental treatments.www.curetoothdecay.com/Dentistry/find_best_dentist.htm
Book Readers’ E-mail List
Readers of this book can sign up on a special e-mail list for book readers only, so I can e-mail you
with the latest tips, interviews and important updates to help you stay on top of your cavity healing
program. www.curetoothdecay.com/subscribe
Getting Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil
Green Pasture's makes the best and highest quality high vitamin butter oil and fermented cod liver oil
on the market. These can be easily purchased at the
 
Cod Liver Oil Shop
, 
www.codliveroilshop.com
Natural and Holistic Tooth Care Products
Many of the highest quality natural and herbal dental care products on the market can be purchased for
reasonable prices at the Holistic Dental Store. I recommend using this store. www.holisticdentalstore.com
Give Support
Readers like you can make a difference in the world. Portions of this book would not exist if readers
had not submitted and shared with me their own knowledge or stories about healing cavities. There
are many ways to give back. You can send me your feedback on the book including personal
testimonials and expertise, or let me know about unclear parts of the text. You can share this book or
the knowledge you have learned with your friends and family. You can show my book to people in the
media, or write articles, or share online on social networking sites to help spread the word about
healing tooth decay naturally. You can give presentations and teach people how to heal cavities. Regarding any of these pertinent topics, please write to me at: comments@curetoothdecay.com I will
read all of the feedback I receive although it could take four weeks or longer for you to receive a
reply depending on if I am traveling. Healthy Teeth Are Your Birthright
Let us remember the words of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston Price:
Tooth decay is not only unnecessary, but an indication of our divergence from Nature's
fundamental laws of life and health. 5
It is true when Dr. Price said that, “Great harm is done, in my judgment, by the sale and use of
substitutes for natural foods.”
6
 There is no other way that I am aware of to be healthy without
approaching dental problems directly through improved lifestyle and eating habits. Great harm has
been done to our teeth and bones because mere facsimiles of food have replaced real, nutrient-rich
food.In the absence of a dental system that values care, awareness and health, is a conventional dental
system of suffering which values secrecy, hiding evidence, false truths, and outwardly hurtful
treatments. This tired and destructive way of providing dental care is coming to an end, and thus we
find ourselves at a crossroads. This crux relates to a larger story of humanity and our beliefs about
ourselves. We are still holding onto the old belief pattern that having a human body is wrong and
sinful, and that a better and healthier reality lies somewhere else. Based on this belief system is the
justification that humans are meant to suffer because to simply exist, is to be imperfect. If it were true
that our purpose is to suffer, then diseases like tooth decay would not be curable. And because of this
belief system, its treatments would necessarily involve suffering, pain and disease. There is a new belief pattern also forming. This belief system affirms that being a human is not wrong
or sinful. And therefore if we are suffering, it must not be from our predetermined state of existence,
but from self-inflicted suffering from human ignorance. Our suffering is somehow our responsibility. And what is our responsibility lies within our power to change. We are here to live in Nature's abundance through following Nature’s laws. In following these laws
we will see that there is no predestined fate of suffering, but rather that human suffering is self-
inflicted when we oppose the natural order of life. When we realign with Nature’s principles, we
connect ourselves with our innate goodness and power to heal, and we move towards balance. I want to share with you the teachings of our indigenous friends, the Aborigines. Living in harmony
with the land and immune to tooth decay, they believed "that life consists in serving others as one
would wish to be served." 7
 In the absence of the practice of this philosophy, which is also
interwoven in many of the world’s religions, a system of health care ¾ including dental care ¾ has
emerged that is driven more by profit than by the higher motive of service to others. We have all
suffered greatly as a result. I invite you to bring this spirit of service into your life and into the lives of your friends and family. It
is this liberator of goodness that has inspired me to create and share with you the possibility of
healing your teeth and gums. For I, too, have committed myself to be of service to others, and this
book is one of the results. We can continue to lie and dishonor our own true selves and believe that diseases like tooth decay
are not curable. But it is time to move away from this limiting belief. The cause of tooth decay is
known: it is a faulty diet. From this knowledge, let us become empowered to take more responsibility
for our dental health. The decision now rests within your hands. Do you take the bold step to ask, “How can I be of service
to life?” which of course includes taking excellent care of yourself, your teeth and your gums. Or do
you choose the old way of convenience, of using foods that stimulate rather than nourish your body. Make the commitment to yourself, a commitment to making changes in your diet and lifestyle and let
food be your medicine. Yes, it takes work to be healthier and to obtain higher quality foods. But you
deserve a healthier life and a healthier mouth. And your community, your friends and family deserve
you to be healthy for their sakes as well.You are not here to suffer; you are here to heal your suffering! Ramiel
Chapter 10 References
1
 Price, W. A. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration 6th Edition. La Mesa: Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation; 2004:288. 2
 Ibid., 430. 3
 Ibid., 289. 4
 Ibid., 64. 5
 Ibid. 415. 6
 Ibid. 294. 7
 op. cit., p. 170. * * *Bonus Chapter
Remineralize and Repair Your Child’s Tooth
Cavities Naturally
Disclaimer for Children's Section
Your child's health is a delicate matter. This material has been written and published solely for
educational purposes and is not intended as a replacement for medical or dental advice. The author
and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any
loss, damage or injury caused, or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information
contained in this book. Only you can make the best decisions for your child. I strongly advise you to play an active role and
to carefully monitor your child's teeth for decay. Note:
 The material in this chapter can also be useful for adults healing their own cavities. The Depths of Despair
With our daughter facing severe tooth decay, my partner and I both experienced a substantial amount
of fear. Watching our daughter's teeth decay before our eyes created a feeling of shock within us. I
experienced a tangible terror and sense of powerlessness because my child's body was clearly in less
than ideal health. This sinking feeling of fear and helplessness would occur frequently and it is one of
the most painful feelings for any parent to experience. Almost every time our daughter pointed to her
mouth when she was between 12-20 months old, Michelle and I thought, “Oh no, she has a toothache;
what do we do?” If you experience even half of that fear on behalf of your child’s health, please know
that it is utterly normal to feel this way. Our children are so precious to us; we do not want them to
suffer. However, out of the depths of my despair, I have begun to experience my greatest faith and an
unsurpassed trust and safety in life, in nature, and in the world. Many parents are concerned about the long term effects of their children's tooth decay, if the tooth
decay is not treated by a dentist with dental surgery. My daughter is now close to seven years old. Her teeth are healthy and pain-free, and her adult teeth are strong, white and cavity-free. I have heard
of similar happy outcomes. Many times children with decayed baby teeth will have healthy adult
teeth.From Fear to Faith, From Suffering to Peace
Here are five strategies that I use to help me find faith, safety, and peace in relation to my daughter’s
oral health. Feel Your Pain
There is something meaningful in feeling the experience you are in, whatever it is. We humans tend to
ignore, deny, block, fight against, control, manipulate, and do anything to “fix” the feeling. The feeling
that says, “I did something wrong” or “It is my fault” or “Now my child is going to suffer,” makes us
feel terrible. I want you to allow yourself to feel that feeling. One needs to feel what it is like to be in
shock, to be in fear, to be in despair. This is a lesson from life. Unfortunately, what many parents do is try to eliminate this feeling of fear by doing something that
might produce a fast solution. They rush to the nearest dentist to fix their child's teeth. The dentist
promises he will help the child; the parent breathes a sigh of relief and believes that they no longer
have to feel their inner discomfort and fear. Many adverse circumstances in life are really learning
opportunities in disguise. If you ignore your feelings and just attempt to fix the problem, then later
other circumstances will trigger the same feelings of pain and a vicious circle will continue until we
meet the inner feelings and listen to them. This does not mean you should avoid a dental treatment; I
am only encouraging you to look at your feelings first, and then act in a way you believe is healthy. The only way out of the vicious circle is to feel the pain, here and now. Just let go and sink into the
feeling. There are no judgments; there is nothing good or bad about your feelings. It is your temporary,
momentary truth. If you get stuck somewhere in these feelings, then you can try prayer or meditation. A simple but
effective prayer or meditation might be, “I want to feel all my feelings about this situation.” Also,
remember to breathe. If, as a parent, you can tolerate the pain (I am referring to your inner emotional pain) and you do not
feel you have to “fix it” in the outer world by immediately engaging all manner of medical
procedures, then you have given yourself space to pause and consider. If you are reading this book,
then you have given yourself enough inner space beyond the feelings of fear, stress, worry, and so on,
to at least explore alternatives to try to choose the best treatment for your child. Try taking a deep
breath right now! Nurturing this inner space is an essential key to making informed and caring choices for your child. Intention
What is your intention right now? What is your purpose in reading this book? Are you fully aligned
with that intention/purpose? Intention is a place where we have absolute power in our lives. This is
where we choose the directions in which we travel. Notice what your current intention is for your
children's health; what is it that you want for them? What do you want for yourself? This is important,
so take the time to reflect. A sample intention for my daughter is: “I really want her to be healthy.”
Another intention could be, “I want to treat my child’s tooth decay in a way that supports his/herhealth.”
A positive intention is reflected by your willingness to constantly search for the best dental solution
relating to your child's health. Pay attention to your intentions. Many people like to focus on positive intention, but it is also important to notice negative intention, as
it can thwart your efforts to stay focused and positive. Negative intention is the intention to be
separate and to act out of fearful places within. Some examples of negative intention are laziness or
avoidance. It is that inner voice that says, “I do not want to give my best because…I don’t have
time…it won’t work…I cannot do it,” and so forth. Each person may have a different voice or inner
belief system which can change from time to time. This negative belief resists that natural flow of life
towards unity, health and healing. In addition to affirming your positive intention, ferret out those
negative places in yourself and acknowledge them so that they will no longer blind you. Peer Pressure
Many parents will meet peer pressure concerning the treatment of their children's teeth. For example,
someone might ask why you are not brushing or taking care of your child's teeth and thus blame you
for your child's tooth decay. I hope you have already come to see that although you were not
completely responsible for their condition because society has taught you false beliefs and incorrect
prevention methods for tooth decay, you must take complete responsibility for it now. Nobody had
educated you on how to prevent tooth decay with good nutrition. You may not have known that
brushing is only a secondary factor at best in preventing tooth decay. After reading this book you now
understand the essential causes of tooth decay and how to treat them. It is important to differentiate blame from responsibility. Blame does not have acceptance laced
within it. It comes with the connotation that someone is at fault. Parents are often blamed for their
child's tooth decay and made to feel as if they are guilty or neglectful. It is important to hold parents
accountable and responsible for their child's health, but in an affirming and positive way. You are
accountable for what you feed your children and for how you nurture and care for them. Everyone
makes mistakes and no one really has the right to blame you. However, you do need to be accountable
for the mistake, educate yourself, and then correct it in the best way possible. Dentists who treat children may also blame, coerce, emotionally punish, and accuse you as parents. This is done to weaken your resistance to the dentist’s demands of an expensive surgical procedure
that you are naturally opposed to. If you feel even the slightest bit of this type of stress, confront the
dentist and request that he stop. Ask him what evidence he has for these accusations. If he continues
this behavior, then please leave and find a better dentist—one who truly wants to help. Remember,
you are paying the dentist plenty of money for his expertise and assistance in healing your child’s
teeth. You are not paying to hear that you are a neglectful parent, nor are you paying him to twist your
arm so he can make money with treatments that are not absolutely necessary. People who tend to blame you will look for anything you are doing that is not in accordance with their
beliefs. Usually what they criticize is that you are breastfeeding too much, or not brushing enough. Neither of these allegations can be determined by the dentist or by your peers as truly causing
cavities. They cannot determine accurately that you were wrong in your behaviors, and besides, suchcondemnation only serves destructive ends. The problem you are facing with peer pressure is a problem of societal ignorance. Many people have
rigid beliefs about dentistry and tooth decay that they learned in childhood. Everyone colludes with
one another in these belief systems. Thus, rather than expanding their thinking to consider new beliefs
that explain how nutritional deficiencies are the primary cause of cavities, people remain mired in the
limited belief pattern of blaming bacteria for cavities. In turn, they then blame you for your children’s
cavities. Blamers hold on to very rigid belief systems, and they are threatened when your behavior
puts into question their narrow thinking. Instead, they should be sharing compassion with you about
such a challenging and frustrating problem. Then there is the opposite of peer pressure, which is avoidance of pressure. Many blame “genetics”
for their child's decay.
CureToothDecay.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Genetics versus Intercepted Heredity
Tooth decay is not a genetic condition. It is a factor of the environment, and usually the primary
environmental factor is poor nutrition. When nature cannot fulfill its ideal potential, we have a
situation called blocked or intercepted heredity. Crooked teeth and wisdom teeth that do not fit (as
well as over- and underbites) 
are not genetic traits. These problems occur from the lack of proper
nutritional building blocks. Further documentation of this fact is available in Weston Price’s book,
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. When our bodies lack the proper ingredients for building
bones or there is an alteration in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorous, our bodies will not be
perfectly formed to fulfill our hereditary potential. The structure and mineralization of our jaws and
teeth suffer as a result of deficiencies in our modern nutritional program. This is similar to the growth
of a plant in unfertile soil. The plant will not blossom to its full potential. To grow healthy teeth and
bones requires whole and unrefined foods carefully grown and prepared, and a diet high in fat-
soluble vitamins and phosphorus. Weston Price explains how the Aborigines of Australia had
perfectly developed jaws for untold generations until they changed their diet. It is most remarkable and should be one of the most challenging facts that can come to our modern
civilization that such primitive races as the Aborigines of Australia have reproduced for generation
after generation through many centuries — no one knows for how many thousands of years — without
the development of a conspicuous number of irregularities of the dental arches. Yet, in the next
generation after these people adopt the foods of the white man, a large percentage of the children
developed irregularities of the dental arches with conspicuous facial deformities. The deformity
patterns are similar to those seen in white civilizations. 2
Why Teeth are Crowded and Wisdom Teeth are Misaligned
When physical development is impeded primarily by a poor and deficient diet, Nature’s blueprint of
a fully developed maxilla (palate) and mandible (jaw) remains incomplete. As a result the maxilla
and mandible are not as wide as they need to be and there is not enough space for all of the teeth. When the teeth come in, they appear crowded. Therefore, there is no such thing as teeth that are too
big, but rather it is a jaw that is too small. This condition also makes wisdom teeth come in crooked,
or causes the roots of wisdom teeth to be impacted. Occlusion
: Occlusion is how our teeth come together when we chew and when our mouth is at rest. Healthy Bite and Misaligned BiteYour Bite and TMJ Pain, Night Grinding, and Tooth Decay
The trigeminal nerve is the largest nerve in your head. It has a network of fibers that run throughout
your face in an intricate matrix. The trigeminal nerve has three major branches: the mandibular (jaw)
nerve, the maxillary (upper palate) nerve, and the ophthalmic (eye) nerve. The trigeminal nerve
system fans throughout your entire face, and contains pain, position and movement (sensory and
motor) sensors and control mechanisms. The nerves of each tooth are connected to either the
manidibular or maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve. When you have a toothache, the nerve pain
goes right through the trigeminal nerve and communicates directly to your thalamus and cerebral
cortex. This explains why you feel tooth pain so very intensely. The trigeminal nerve connects with
our limbic brain which is related to emotions and mental functions. 3
 How you bite is directly
connected with how you feel. When your mouth closes, your jaw should be in a relaxed and comfortable position. The correct
positioning of the jaw and teeth is shown in both figure 
a
 and in the figure labeled 
occlusion. In figure
a
, the molars naturally and comfortably touch on all surfaces when the jaw is in the closed, relaxed
position. When the back molars are touching comfortably, the body’s nervous system is sent a
constant signal of relaxation through the trigeminal nerve. Because of this nerve relaxation, a person
with contacting molars in the comfortable, relaxed position ages more slowly, heals faster, has a
positive outlook on life, and generally feels good. Take a moment and look in the mirror. You can see if your jaw is naturally in position 
a. If it is not,
do not be surprised, as 95% or more of the population has a misaligned jaw. The term for a
misaligned bite is 
malocclusion. When your jaw is misaligned the sensory system of the trigeminal
nerve is activated. 4
 A classic jaw misalignment is called a 
closed bite. When the jaw hinges closed
through its natural motion as in figure 
b
, the molars do not touch. Rather the front teeth collide into
one another. This unfortunate circumstance resulted because the jaw bone did not develop to its full
potential, and the back molars are too low. Because either the upper back molars or lower ones did
not extend to their fullest potential, the jaw cannot relax in the neutral closed position as demonstrated
in figure 
a. A closed and relaxed jaw as shown in the skull photographs and in figure 
a
 is especially important
during sleep. The body regenerates while we sleep. But if the molars are not comfortably touching, as
in figure 
b
, then side effects such as night time tooth grinding or clenching can occur. As the teeth
clench at night, if they are in positions 
b 
or 
c 
they can easily become worn down and overly stressed
since the molars are not comfortably supporting the mouth. This is exactly why teeth become infected
and eroded. This situation can also be associated with snoring and loss of fully restful sleep. What also happens in the condition illustrated by figure 
b
 is the body’s sensory nervous system
receives messages through the trigeminal nerve to the brain that the jaw is not relaxed. The body then
tries to make the molars contact one another to find the relaxed and natural position. Yet in order for
the body to find a natural biting position and for the molars to touch as they were designed to, the jaw
must hinge backwards and upwards as shown in figure 
c. Since the body seeks relaxation, and since
chewing and eating require the front teeth to avoid colliding while the molars grind food, what
happens is that the jaw must hinge in a forced manner to compensate. While the jaw joint is capableof sliding forward and backward, it is not supposed to slide backward all the time. In figure 
c
 you see
the final 
closed bite
 position; the molars are touching now, but the jaw is jammed backwards. At the
same time, the front teeth may be contacting each other wrongly and wearing down. Over time, the
hinging of the jaw in the unnatural position overly strains the thin friction disk in the
temporomandibular joint, and there is pain, popping, and cracking on the light end of the symptom
scale. The worst thing about this common condition is that the body rarely or never is able to
completely relax, heal and regenerate. Instead there is a constant experience of tension. Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF) and Cavities
Some people experience tooth pain when exposed to electro-magnetic fields such as from a television
or a computer monitor. The connection between our nervous system and our teeth could explain why
this happens. Root Canals, Tooth Infections and Your Bite
A significant proportion of tooth infections have at their source a usually unrecognized component of
bite dysfunction. Nighttime clenching and daytime stress from the molars not comfortably touching
cause strain on specific teeth depending on how the jaw is misaligned. Nighttime clenching is also
one of the main causes of abfractions—gum line ridges and sensitivity of teeth caused by relentless
stresses from the jaw pressures that wear them down. When the jaw cannot comfortably close as in figures 
b 
and
 c 
then certain teeth can become severely
worn or traumatized. The body has a hard time healing those specific teeth because they are
constantly being bruised, and these are the exact teeth that become painful and infected. A poor bite is
one of the main reasons why people develop tooth infections. The “Feel Good” Substance P
Neuropeptides are a type of molecule our nervous system uses to communicate. Substance P
 is a
neuropeptide that stimulates inflammation and also functions in the transmission of pain signals within
the nervous system. So when you have a toothache, there is a marked increase in substance P. If you
have an injury in your body, amounts of substance P increase near the injury site. After substance P is
released from your nerves it lingers in your body for a while. 5
The trigeminal nerve has such a high density of pain fibers that it can have a dramatic effect on the
substance P levels in your body. Substance P is actually good for us. It stimulates cell growth and
promotes wound healing. 6
 But when someone’s bite is out of alignment such as shown in figure 
c
 then
the trigeminal nerve which is laced throughout the mandible (jaw) releases pain signals through
substance P in large amounts. Perhaps this happens because the body correlates the jaw misalignment
with a physical injury. The constant release of substance P from the trigeminal nerve over time causes
our sensory system to become over stimulated or hyperactive. This then substantially reduces our
body’s ability to send substance P to the parts of our body that require healing and regeneration. Therefore when our bite is out of alignment we heal more slowly. Too much substance P in the system
leads to a burned out nervous system. It can cause hyperactivity in children. Excess substance P frombite imbalances leads to hypersensitivity to touch, smells, light, and loud noises as well as to general
irritability. 7
 Disease conditions that respond well to jaw alignment include fibromyalgia, irritable
bowel syndrome, autism, asthma, and all of the autoimmune disorders. When your jaw is relaxed, then substance P is not being overly released because your jaw is aligned. Substance P then can do its job to help heal and regenerate all the parts of your body. A relaxed jaw
from a correct bite makes your body relaxed and your body rejuvenates itself. A relaxed bite keeps us
youthful, helps us heal well, and have strength and energy when we need it. This is the power of your
bite. Your Bite and Your Vitality
The excess of substance P released from a bad bite in part explains why neurological and physical
function usually improve dramatically when the jaw is in the relaxed and neutral position as seen in
figure 
a. Mouth guards that improve the strength and vitality of athletes move the jaw into a more
biologically correct position. The body senses through the trigeminal nerve that everything is in
alignment, the nervous system relaxes, and the body functions more optimally. 8
 As a result, strength,
endurance, and reaction times increase. There are early studies that indicate that jaw clenching and
chewing have an anti-stress effect and are stress coping mechanisms, provided the bite is correct. 9
How TMJ and Bite Affect Cavities, Tooth Infections and Toothaches
When your bite is out of alignment, your body receives pain signals via substance P. A misaligned
bite affects cavities and tooth pain in three ways. First, the nervous system of the jaw is hyper
stimulated which inhibits the natural healing response of the body to mend damaged teeth. Second,
when the bite is out of balance, specific teeth become overly stressed from the mechanical forces of
the jaw. Third, with a bad bite, the trigeminal nerve becomes hypersensitive. With these conditions a
toothache will hurt much more than it normally should. What this means for you is that if you have a
tooth ache, or tooth infection, then any types of body therapy you can do to relax the stresses on your
nervous system, particularly the trigeminal nerve, can dramatically impact the health of your teeth. Perhaps half or more of tooth infections and tooth pain can be healed simply by helping the jaw relax
and by moving the bite into a more correct position. Profound Effects of TMJ Dysfunction and a Bad Bite
TMJ dysfunction (TMD) can present symptoms such as pain behind eyes, difficulty opening and
closing the mouth, ringing in ears, tooth grinding, over clenching, worn teeth, headaches and even
vision problems. If the jaw is allowed to hinge normally and does not need to be forced into the
closed bite position as shown in figure 
c
 then the TMD symptoms can resolve if the joint is not
excessively damaged. The method of resolution of TMD is usually some type of dental appliance
which helps the jaw function correctly. Pain with TMD is caused by overwork of the nervous and muscular systems as they must function in
an unnatural manner to bring the teeth together for chewing and the natural jaw clenching position. Over time the muscles fatigue, become strained, and can lead to pain in the jaw, the back of the neck,head and ears. 10
The hyper stimulated nervous system has some surprising side effects. For example, orthopedic
orthodontist Dr. Brendan Stack believes that the basis of most of the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome
is essentially a misalignment of the mandible to the base of the skull. By correcting the position of the
jaw with a dental appliance, the eye blinking, eyelid tics, mouth tics, head nodding, shoulder
shrugging and head tremors disappear. Dr. Stack has videos on his website that appear to depict
miracles. Yet the amazing recoveries are based on a correct understanding of how the jaw and cranial
system were meant to function. You can see immobilized people walking again within minutes at
www. tmjstack. com
Many diseases, particularly neurological diseases like autism, have a significant symptom component
in that the bite of the afflicted individual is severely compromised. Symptoms of a severely
misaligned bite are a crooked face, improper facial growth, the mouth hanging open, tongue sticking
out, and a very poor posture. Not all bite misalignments are that obvious. An imbalance of as little as
1/8 of an inch can cause malocclusion and health problems. 11
 Treating and resolving diseases that
have nervous system components can require a therapeutic correction of the bite. Unfortunately the
connection between neurological diseases and the bite is often completely overlooked. Orthodontics
Now we will learn why braces are generally unnecessary and in fact harmful. First, two definitions:
Orthodontics
 is the practice of forcing teeth to appear to be in alignment using non-removable dental
appliances such as braces. Dental Orthopedics
 is a medical model that focuses on the structure and alignment of the cranial
bones, with the intent to align the jaw towards its normal developmental state. “Functional
orthodontics” is another name for this modality. Many people have chosen orthodontics, which is a means of making their teeth to appear straight,
when they really wanted orthopedics, which is the correction of physical development to a normal
and healthy state. These terms lead to a great deal of confusion because there are conventional
orthodontists, orthodontist-orthopedists, and dental orthopedists. For clarity I will refer to
practitioners who only look at making teeth straight, and who take a mechanistic approach that works
against the normal function of the body as conventional orthodontists. Orthopedists are dental
practitioners who align the bite, even though some orthopedists may also call themselves
orthodontists. Dental orthopedics is the art form of reconstructing bites with dental appliances. This entails more
than merely a mechanical process, but involves an artistic non-surgical cranial reconstruction. Conventional orthodontics is a mechanistic system that does not consider the normal developmental
model of the body. I, like many others, have experienced negative outcomes from conventional orthodontics. When I was
young, my jaw was in the position as shown in figure 
c, 
also referred to as an overbite. Because the
goal of conventional orthodontists (who practice orthodontics, not orthopedics) is to make teeth
straight, without even necessarily making them contact properly, their simplified approach is to make
your teeth straight BY ANY MEANS NECCESSARY. The conventional orthodontist believes that the
jaws are stuck in one position and cannot move. At best, all an orthodontist sees is what is shown in
the figure labeled 
occlusion:
 a row of teeth. The orthodontist, like the conventional dentist, also sees
a row of money. I remember my orthodontist had nice pictures on his office wall of his mansion, and
of his family’s many vacations to Hawaii. The conventional orthodontic approach was designed as a
business model and is an easy and convenient way to move through many patients in an assembly-line
fashion. In the process, the conventional orthodontist rakes in large profits while ignorantly thwarting
the normal developmental processes of the body. In order to make the teeth straight and my jaw look a certain way (or to get my teeth to touch in a
certain way; the goal was never made clear to me), by any means necessary, I was required to wear a
headgear. The theory (wrongly) goes that when children are growing (I was eight) pushing the maxilla
(upper palate) against its natural growth direction with a tortuous device called a headgear that is
worn nightly, will cause the mandible (the jaw) to catch up. And then the hope is that the teeth will
touch correctly (occlusion). So the fairytale goes, and everyone will be happy, and the orthodontist
will get his $5,000. Fifteen years later, however, at the age of 23, my teeth did not touch at all naturally. I developed TMJ
dysfunction (TMD) by the time I was 30 years old, my lower teeth became very crooked, and my jaw
never moved forward the way it was supposed to according to the treatment protocol. The
conventional orthodontist’s model of arresting the development of the maxilla is misguided since the
body rarely or never overgrows a part of itself, rather other parts of the body do not grow fully so the
maxilla appears to protrude, but it is really normal. The results of two years of torture for me as a child were a lot of money spent, but no positive
outcome. I know many other people who have gone through similar treatment, and have similar TMD
and other serious problems to show for it. The problems get worse over time because our jaw
continues to grow, or imbalances get worse, meanwhile the TMJ joint wears out. Many people do not
figure out that they have TMD until, sadly, the entire joint is nearly worn out. I am lucky in a way. I
have spent so much time researching dental problems that my research kept me focusing on my bite,
and I finally realized my body was in a constant state of stress because my molars did not touch
properly. Don’t worry if this sounds like your situation; I will explain how to treat this problem
shortly. Dental Orthopedics Focuses on Normal Development
Conventional orthodontics pursues the wrong goal, which is to make teeth straight BY ANY MEANS
NECESSARY. However, to create a healthy bite, the jaw and cranium must be aligned in natural
position and size. This is the goal of dental orthopedics. If you have a closed bite as illustrated in
figure 
c
, the orthopedic treatment might include insertion of a dental appliance which has a plastic
spacer that sits on top of the molars, such as a twin block or an OmNi-2. This is seen in the figure
where the bite height is restored with a plastic spacer. This allows the jaw to stay comfortably closed
in a natural position even though the molars do not naturally touch. What is amazing about the use of
such an appliance is that when there is a space such that certain molars do not touch, the molars start
to get closer together as the jaw bone grows in under the molars. Eventually over a treatment period
of eighteen months to three years all of the molars can be guided to meet each other, and the correct
functional bite height can be retained without further need of a dental appliance. Conventional Orthodontic Practices Damage Faces
Conventional orthodontic practices damage facial aesthetics. 12
 They also damage the functionality of
the bite as seen in many cases of TMD from just a small informal survey of people who have
undergone conventional orthodontic treatment. The most damaging aspects of orthodontics are tooth
extractions and head gear. Many patients or parents are not adequately informed about the dangers of conventional orthodontics
prior to treatment. 13
 In particular the resorption of tooth roots is a common and sometimes highly
damaging result of wearing braces. Root resorption is the loss or damage to the tooth root from the
pulling force of braces. When you move teeth with braces, a tooth does not simply slide into the next
position. The figure of the tooth in chapter three shows how the tooth is surrounded by bone. To move
a tooth, the braces pull the teeth and the tooth is pushed into the alveolar bone. This is something akin
to a boat traveling through thick ice. As the tooth is pushed in one direction, the bone in the jaw must
dissolve on one end of the tooth and fill in on the other side of the tooth for the tooth to move. When
the tooth roots are pushed against the jaw bone with fixed dental appliances like braces, 93% of them
are damaged; some severely. 14
 Approximately 72-84% of teeth that have been treated with a fixed
appliance (braces) have suffered clinically significant damage. 15
 As a result many teeth suffer
permanent damage from braces. Gum disease later in life, in combination with roots that are damaged
from braces and are therefore much shorter, means early tooth loss. Standard consent and disclaimer
forms that patients must sign before accepting braces as treatment explain the known harm caused by
braces. They include jaw pain (from the bite being pulled out of alignment), root resorption, tooth or
jaw instability, fleeting results due to physical growth, gum inflammation, and unexpected results. Meanwhile, in the orthopedic model you will suffer none of these side effects because the dental
orthopedic model works with the natural form of the body, helping it function and grow properly. If you put braces on the teeth of a growing child, and do not even try to move or push teeth, as the
child’s jaw grows, his teeth are going to move in the jaw bone. Root resorption is worse in older
children than in younger children. 16
Bicuspid Extraction
Bicuspid extraction performed by conventional orthodontics on children and teens collapses the
structure of the face, making the face more narrow and less attractive. This unfortunate result has been
shown in studies comparing differing orthodontic approaches with identical twins. Over time, the
twin whose teeth were not extracted, but whose dental arch was widened instead, developed the more
attractive facial features. Bicuspid extraction sacrifices perfectly healthy and beautiful teeth to the
faulty goals of conventional orthodontics. 17
 Not to mention the fact that pulling teeth can cause
emotional trauma as children feel that they have been disfigured or that there is something wrong with
them. Orthodontics Does Not Address the Physiological Cause of Crooked TeethCrooked teeth are the result of a maxilla (upper palate) that is too narrow. 18
 This leads to a child
having a more narrow face and less appealing looks. Practically speaking a wider face means more
space for the tongue, and a greater ease in breathing, along with plenty of space for all of the teeth
including the wisdom teeth. What conventional orthodontics does is make space for teeth by pushing
the teeth, rather than by encouraging the jaw to develop to its full potential, which is the orthopedic
approach. In their drive to make teeth fit, conventional orthodontists pull out teeth. Yet extracting teeth
has led to noticeably altered facial features to the patient’s detriment. 19
 The other conventional
method for making all of the teeth fit besides extractions is to fan them out forward. Part of the
problem with the bite in an individual with an overbite (closed bite), is not enough height in the
molars for the jaw to swing forward naturally and to have the molars comfortably touch. When the
teeth are fanned out with braces, the back molars stay at the same low height, and then the height of
the front teeth is also lowered by being rocked outward. Rather than working with the correct therapeutic model as described earlier and the natural growth
direction of the body, conventional orthodontics works against it. Rather than bringing the jaw
forward, conventional orthodontics pushes the maxilla (upper palate) back and compounds the
problem and further prevents the mandible (jaw) from growing. 20
 Conventional orthodontics lowers
the height of teeth that do not need to be lowered, removes teeth that are perfectly beautiful and
healthy, pushes teeth into the jaw bone and causes their roots to shorten. To say that conventional
orthodontics is a massive disaster would be a grave understatement. The wires in orthodontic appliances contain nickel and can cause personality changes such as a lack
of affection and lowered intelligence. Homeopathic remedies for nickel poisoning can resolve this
situation. Functional Orthopedics
The good news is that nearly every problem with orthodontics can be corrected to some degree with
orthopedics. Finding a practitioner who understands all of the aspects and integrative care required
for dental orthopedic changes can be difficult since dental orthopedics requires the specialty of three
or more areas of expertise. As a result, the combination of a dentist who practices orthopedics along
with physical therapies is required for the best treatment outcomes. Dental orthopedics requires not
just an understanding of, but the physical manipulation of the cranial bones, the jaw bones, the TMJ
joint, the fascia which is a fibrous tissue that surrounds muscles, nerves, and the 
dura mater
 which
surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The younger the patient, and the less severe the imbalance, the
less expertise is going to be required from multiple fields to produce a successful result. Craniopathy
Craniopathy has its origins in an old system of chiropractic work. When we breathe, the bones in our
head actually breathe and expand. The human head contains a set of 23 interlocking bones. There are
eight cranial bones and fourteen facial bones. When we are born, many of us have slight imbalances
in the bones of our body, particularly the cranial bones. This creates a cranial birth distortion. Over
time these distortions, or bone malformations in the cranium or cervical vertebrae, can lead to bite
distortions, particularly left/right imbalances where one side of the jaw develops more fully than the
other. Injuries and other traumas in life can also cause cranial bones to become stuck, which over
time can cause physiological problems. The other important understanding with relation to braces or any functional orthopedic appliance
therapy is that every time you move even one tooth, some or all of the 23 cranial bones are going to
move with it. This is because the tooth is attached to our jaw bone. The 
dura mater
 and fascia also
move when teeth are moved. The net result of the interconnection of cranial bones and teeth is that it is possible to go through an
entire round of orthopedics or orthodontics and have the jaw and bite function perfectly, but still have
a distorted cranial system. If the distorted cranial system in that situation is fixed by a craniopath who
moves cranial bones, then the interlocking bones of the skull will move the bite back out of position,
and the dental treatment will need to be redone. The moral of this story is that any work done on the
teeth to correct bite imbalances must involve substantial additional therapies to maintain the
alignment of the cranial bones. You can find certified craniopaths at the Sacro Occipital Research
Society International 
www. sorsi. com
Jaw Alignment through Body Work
There are several modalities to help your jaw, head and bite all feel more comfortable and function
more correctly. Amazingly, each modality which I present here, which I have experienced personally,
has a unique perspective on what is important. Each modality generally completely misses something
that a practitioner from another modality feels is important. For example, after seeing several experts
including an osteopath, several chiropractors from different modalities, and two different cranial
sacral therapists, none of them discovered a simple fact that my TMJ joint on the left side wasjammed. The next chiropractor I saw, a craniopath, was able to release the locked joint in one or two
quick adjustments. 21
 While I believe that all these different modalities can learn from one another,
and that the specialties could all be involved and enhanced, the reality is most practitioners do not
see anything close to the entire picture, and unfortunately many are closed-minded and mired in
limiting belief systems even when they offer excellent therapeutic treatments. The first step to functional orthopedics is nearly always to have body work treatments done. This is
my opinion. This is not any official recommendation from any organization. The more treatments, the
better. I received body work treatments with a craniopath, a directional non-force chiropractor, and a
biodynamic osteopath for about 8 months before getting a dental appliance. 22
 I kept receiving the
treatments until I would hit a wall in which the treatments were no longer helpful because I needed
extra support for my bite from a dental appliance. There are of course other body work modalities
and forms of chiropractic work not mentioned here that may help or even completely heal any bite
dysfunction. www. cranialacademy. org
 – Osteopaths who specialize in the cranial field.
No, tooth decay is not a genetic condition, but rather a factor of the environment, primarily caused by poor nutrition.
Is tooth decay a genetic condition?
Poor nutrition is the primary environmental factor that leads to tooth decay.
What is the primary environmental factor that leads to tooth decay?
The goal of dental orthopedics is to correct the bite and align the jaw to its natural position, rather than just making teeth appear straight.
What is the goal of dental orthopedics?
Misaligned teeth and wisdom teeth are caused by a lack of proper nutritional building blocks, leading to an incomplete development of the jaw and teeth.
What is the main cause of misaligned teeth and wisdom teeth?
The recommended approach to treating tooth decay is to address the root cause of the issue, which is poor nutrition, and to focus on healing the teeth and gums through proper diet and lifestyle changes.
What is the recommended approach to treating tooth decay?