Grow

Epigenetics & Stem Cells

The living body is a dynamic form capable of responsive change and growth. The peripheral and central nervous systems make up the primary intelligent loops that communicate and facilitate the body’s adaptive survival mechanisms.

The body is organized into trillions of “smart cells”. These cells network together to form complex layers of interactive smart tissue. Individual cells talk to each other in a language called “signal transduction”. The body thrives or degrades based on signalling.  

External and internal “cues or signals” received by cells can cause tissue changes. For instance, muscle cells are imbued with such intelligence, that if you continually place them under increasing loads (say by repetitive work), they will signal the body to increase the size and number of the muscles cells in order to “do” this work more efficiently. This messaging system extends out to nearby blood vessels needed to support the enlarged and increased number of muscles cells that arose to the function of repetitive work. Stem cells are signalled to morphologically change into the various cells that make up a blood vessel in a process known as neovascularization in order to deliver nutrients to the newly formed muscle cells. This is an example of our smart tissue at work behind the scenes. We see this common muscle change/effect after regular strength training exercises. What’s happening may seem simple and natural–and it is!! But it is also wonderful and knowable. The same process and signalling occurs in our body when we encounter a “bug” and the immune system has to make special cells called antibodies to rid the body of the invader. Smart tissue qualities are called into action when calluses form on our fingertips after several weeks of guitar lessons. What’s happening here? Our body cells are responding by becoming more efficient in that particular environment. This is an example of the body’s ability to adapt and respond. This is innate intelligence in action, and we now know that this cellular intelligence is largely epigenetic in nature. Epigenetics can be summed up in a simple concept–Gene Environment Interactions. These cellular environmental interactions in our bodies are numbered in the trillions and trillions, but the concept is rather straight-forward and simple. Epigenetics, the environmental interaction with our genes, becomes the root process for structural change through stem cell differentiation. 

Okay, now… we’ve given an overview of how the body cells talk with one another through signal transduction, so now we can begin to understand how a properly designed intraoral appliance can provide special signals to the teeth and the bones of the face and mouth to express desirable changes that are both aesthetic and functional. Aesthetic because health and proper function is beauty.

There are literally hundreds of intraoral dental appliances on the market, and because they have a shape, and are placed in the oral cavity, all will cause some permanent change to the face, bite and jaw. But that is not all—they will also affect the rest of the body in one way or another. It’s not a question of whether or not an intraoral appliance will cause a change in the entire body—it will. The more important questions are: what are those changes, and how do they affect our overall health. How do we anticipate, measure and monitor those changes? 

Here are the important questions to consider:

  1. How  is the relationship of the teeth with one another?

     

  2. Is the bite becoming more balanced and harmonious, or are the tooth relationships growing apart from one another?

     

  3. Is the intro oral splint painful or uncomfortable to wear?

     

  4. How long should it be worn?

     

  5. Since all craniofacial pain syndromes are terminated in the trigeminal cervical system, how is the intraoral appliance affecting the jaw joints and the complex nerves that control the face, head and neck?

     

  6. Is it causing pain in the mouth, or other less discrete strains on the craniofacial system?

  7. Is it correcting cranial strains and asymmetry or locking them it into place?

     

  8. How is the appliance affecting the brainstem and the upper airway? If the atlas is misaligned (in the wrong place) during the bite registration process, the appliance will be “encoded” with this postural information and will negatively influence the atlas joint complex to move into the wrong place when the appliance is inserted into the mouth. This can negatively affect the brainstem and blood flow to the brain–which can affect EVERYTHING.

     

  9. How is the appliance affecting full body balance, function and posture?

     

  10. How is the appliance affecting the autonomic tone and function of the entire body.

The fact is: dentists are not usually equipped to monitor full body processes or systemic health matters. Yet, they are the primary health professionals that place intraoral appliances. Although some dentists’ will take body posture photos against a grid, there are still considerable limitations in guiding and measuring the complex interactions that their dental appliances have over the neurology and musculoskeletal system of the body below—and in many of the cases that I have seen, these changes are not noted or discussed in the dentist patient relationship, because they are left unaddressed and unattended, in certain cases of the population, these spill down, spill over a fax I have intro oral appliance therapy can create health problems in other parts of the body. Research has shown, or rather has demonstrated that this is true.

 

Bioengineering a Growth Appliance:

Designing and building an intraoral appliance that will optimally affect all the body systems and guide the craniofacial, craniospinal and entire body into a healthier state is no small undertaking. Like designing and building the space station, all functions and structures must be considered from beginning to end, to ensure safety, progress and success. When we understand that a Growth Appliance produces growth trajectories for the face, jaw, tongue, pharynx, heart and brain and skull, we must be thoughtful and comprehensive in the design of the appliance, because the “form” of that appliance or orthotic predicts its “function”. A design flaw in the appliance can create a downstream problem over time that might be difficult to correct.

Every body has a unique set of problems which it is trying to solve through compensation or adaptation over time. Solving as many problems with one solution is the hallmark of a well-designed solution–and the telltale sign of a well built appliance. Our Solution starts with establishing energy efficient, balanced relationships between the face, skull, spine, pelvis and feet, and all of the neurology that goes along with it, and encoding this information onto our intraoral appliance through a proprietary bite registration process called CCMR.

CCMR stands for Craniocervical Mandibular Registration. This process begins with a complex full body history and examination by specially trained clinicians who work together under one roof in The Chapman Method. The method itself provides the analysis and technology which guides the doctors throughout your care plan and process.

Once your body is aligned and stable, it can now function as it’s meant to, and every aspect of your life can grow

Ready to take control of your health?

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