Have you ever wondered what early hunter-gatherers did to fix their teeth? Today, we need regular cleanings and sometimes even have our wisdom teeth removed. Interestingly, our ancestors did not share the same issues as us. Analysis of ancient skulls commonly show nearly perfect dental health and were less likely to have impacted wisdom teeth.[1] Evolutionarily our jaws have changed with the advancement of new food processing technology.[1,2] Ancestor’s diets consisted of fibrous meat, scavenged raw fruits, and vegetables, whereas today we go to the grocery store and consume soft and heavily processed foods. While the actual shape of teeth is more genetic in nature, the positioning of our teeth and jaws are the product of the high forces we produce while chewing.[1,3]
Just like how our leg bones and muscles grow weak from not walking, running, and jumping, our jaws can become too narrow from constantly eating soft foods that don’t stress your face or jaw joints in a healthy way.[1,4,5] This is even present with animals – young hyraxes (small, rodent-like animals) that ate harder, tougher foods developed longer, wider, and thicker jaws than those who were fed softer diets.[5] This eating pattern contributes to crowded teeth that do not function properly, and when combined with eating hard foods or very large bites that could overstress our jaw, can cause headaches.
In addition to changed eating habits compared to hunter-gatherers, we also spend more time in less-than-optimal postures that can cause painful headaches. Sitting at desks, slouching on the couch, staring at our phones, driving, reading…they all can end up promoting what we call a “forward head posture”. With this posture, our neck muscles are lengthened/weakened in the front and tightened/strained in the back. This also leads to our jaw joint being pulled backwards which can cause imprecise chewing, painful clicking or popping, or even long-term damage to the jaw.[6] Popping in the jaw is not inherently bad but can indicate the jaw joint is not operating in the best fashion.
Curious how your posture can affect your bite? Try this: lean your head forward with a slightly open mouth, then gently bite down. Now, perform the “chin tuck” and bite down. Did those two positions change where your teeth made contact?
Our neck posture influences our ability to eat properly, placing undue strain on our jaw and even making it harder to swallow food. When we repeatedly eat with FHP (on average, we chew 32 times per bite).[7] it can deform the joint surfaces and supporting soft tissue of the jaw. This leads to irritation, inflammation, muscle pain, and sometimes headaches. In contrast, there are benefits to combining a chin tuck with eating/swallowing. In fact, utilizing a simple chin tuck while swallowing food improved the function of swallowing-related structures.[8]
So, let’s debunk a myth – eating hard, chewy foods, or large bites, aren’t inherently bad for your jaw – we just need to introduce better chewing mechanics (improved posture) to avoid pain.
Understanding how our head, neck, and jaw work together is crucial to figure out the underlying cause of a headache. Headaches occur for a variety of reasons, but one often overlooked reason is jaw muscle weakness or poor chewing mechanics, which can translate pain signals across your skull.[1] While we might not be able to “widen” our jaws in adulthood and reverse the tooth-crowding effect of our early-life diet, we can still train our jaws to not hurt our head or our mouths through healthy repetition (more chews) and changing the consistency (hard/soft) of the food we eat.
Try these simple strategies to strengthen your jaw and reduce the risk of headache!
Perform the slight chin tuck while actively chewing to improve chewing mechanics
Eat raw or slightly cooked vegetables (carrots, celery) to add some chewing resistance
Try adding 10 extra chews to your bite when you’re eating to get extra repetition
If you have an active headache:
Avoid particularly chewy foods (laffy taffy) or hard foods (jerky) to lessen strain to your jaw
Try this jaw massage technique:
References
Lieberman D. The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Vintage Books; 2014.
Harvard University. Processing food before eating likely played key role in human evolution, study finds. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-food-key-role-human-evolution.html
Reuell P. Big gains in better chewing. Science & Technology. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/03/big-gains-in-better-chewing/
Corruccini RS, Beecher RM. Occlusal Variation Related to Soft Diet in a Nonhuman Primate. Science. 1982;218(4567):74-76. doi:10.1126/science.7123221
Lieberman DE, Krovitz GE, Yates FW, Devlin M, St. Claire M. Effects of food processing on masticatory strain and craniofacial growth in a retrognathic face. J Hum Evol. 2004;46(6):655-677. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.03.005
Starrett K, Starrett J, Cordoza G. Deskbound: Standing up to a Sitting World. Victory Belt Publishing; 2016.
Cirino E, Biggers, M.D., MPH A. Chewing Your Food: Is 32 Really the Magic Number? https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-times-should-you-chew-your-food
Leigh JH, Oh BM, Seo HG, et al. Influence of the Chin-Down and Chin-Tuck Maneuver on the Swallowing Kinematics of Healthy Adults. Dysphagia. 2015;30(1):89-98. doi:10.1007/s00455-014-9580-3
Healthy Is Wellness, LLC (“Healthy Is Wellness”) is not a health care provider, and does not provide professional medical advice, diagnosis, and/or treatment. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY HEALTHY IS WELLNESS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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