Diet 'to blame' for crooked teeth

[Guest guest]

Diet 'to blame' for crooked teeth By BBC News health reporter,

Washington DC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4279005.stm

Teeth have adapted to mushy food The way our diet has evolved over time could

explain why many children need braces to get the perfect smile, according to US

paleoanthropologists. Early Man learning to cook food and cut it up with tools

has led to our teeth and jaws shrinking over time, they say.

Fossil evidence shows we have evolved to eat mush, the scientists say.

But as jaws have become smaller, they have had to accommodate the same number of

teeth, often leading to the teeth becoming crooked, they add.

If for any reason we are forced back into eating tough, raw foods we could be in

trouble, they suggest.

Our teeth and jaws aren't equipped to cope with anything very substantial

Dr Bernard Wood of Washington University

Dr Bernard Wood, of Washington University, said: " We're a pretty puny

bunch, really, with small teeth and small jaws.

" If we can't get the foods we like, and we have to adapt quickly, we might be in

a terrible mess because our teeth and jaws aren't equipped to cope with anything

very substantial. "

Wear and tear

Professor Ungar, from the University of Arkansas, has been looking at

smart new technology that should help those studying fossils of human teeth.

The instrument uses high-resolution laser scanning combined with geographic

information systems.

This gives three-dimensional information about wear and tear on teeth.

" We can infer the diets of fossil primates by comparing the length and shearing

of crests on unworn molars with those of living species with known diets, " Prof

Ungar said.

" Living primates that eat leaves or insects, for example, have longer crests for

shearing and slicing these tough foods.

" In contrast, those that consume nuts and seeds have blunter molar teeth with

shorter crests for crushing and grinding these hard, brittle foods, " he said.

Lucas, also from the Washington University, said the first human

ancestor probably learned to cook to spare his teeth.

After all, cooked potato can reduce stress to molars by up to 82%, compared with

raw potato, he said.

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[Guest guest]

Ha! Well that was a twist! I had expected to read that they finally

realized what Price had already observed, but instead they're blaming

the " toughness " or lack thereof of our foods. LOL Well, from the

looks of the teeth of my 3 sons, I think Price's observations were

more accurate. I nursed my middle son the longest (one full year),

and he has the best teeth of my 3 boys--amazingly so--completely

straight with zero cavities. He chews on tough things regularly even

on spare rib bones. And to think that both his father and I have had

less than perfect teeth. Mine only look okay because I've had braces

when I was a kid, and one tooth on my lower jaw " still " moved out of

place afterwards. Wish my parents had known about Price before I was

born.

Thanks for sharing that article!

Take care,

Marla

> Diet 'to blame' for crooked teeth By BBC News

health reporter,

> Washington DC

>

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4279005.stm

>

>

>

> Teeth have adapted to mushy food The way our diet has evolved over

time could

> explain why many children need braces to get the perfect smile,

according to US

> paleoanthropologists. Early Man learning to cook food and cut it up

with tools

> has led to our teeth and jaws shrinking over time, they say.

>

> Fossil evidence shows we have evolved to eat mush, the scientists say.

>

> But as jaws have become smaller, they have had to accommodate the

same number of

> teeth, often leading to the teeth becoming crooked, they add.

>

> If for any reason we are forced back into eating tough, raw foods we

could be in

> trouble, they suggest.

>

> Our teeth and jaws aren't equipped to cope with anything very

substantial

>

> Dr Bernard Wood of Washington University

>

> Dr Bernard Wood, of Washington University, said: " We're a

pretty puny

> bunch, really, with small teeth and small jaws.

>

> " If we can't get the foods we like, and we have to adapt quickly, we

might be in

> a terrible mess because our teeth and jaws aren't equipped to cope

with anything

> very substantial. "

>

> Wear and tear

>

> Professor Ungar, from the University of Arkansas, has been

looking at

> smart new technology that should help those studying fossils of

human teeth.

>

> The instrument uses high-resolution laser scanning combined with

geographic

> information systems.

>

> This gives three-dimensional information about wear and tear on teeth.

>

> " We can infer the diets of fossil primates by comparing the length

and shearing

> of crests on unworn molars with those of living species with known

diets, " Prof

> Ungar said.

>

> " Living primates that eat leaves or insects, for example, have

longer crests for

> shearing and slicing these tough foods.

>

> " In contrast, those that consume nuts and seeds have blunter molar

teeth with

> shorter crests for crushing and grinding these hard, brittle foods, "

he said.

>

> Lucas, also from the Washington University, said the

first human

> ancestor probably learned to cook to spare his teeth.

>

> After all, cooked potato can reduce stress to molars by up to 82%,

compared with

> raw potato, he said.

>

> <<Formatted by CarrotStop>>

> http://brazzell.com/CarrotStop