CASE STUDY Clinical Epigenetics: from that definition and a handful of basics: • “Genes can be turned on and off with environmental factors such as diet, stress, aging, and pollutants,” states the National Institute of Environ-mental Health Sciences. 2 • Epigenetics “was introduced by embryologist Conrad Waddington… defined as the complex of developmental processes between the geno-type and phenotype.” 3 • Epigenetics does not change a person’s genetic code. If genes are the instructional manual for cells, then “epigenetic processes tell the cells to read specific pages of the manual at distinct times.” 4 • Dr. G. Dave Singh’s ground-breaking Epigenetic Orthodontics for Adults (2009) ushered in a new era in dentistry: Epigenetics works for growing adult arches and airway. 5 Improve or Resolve Perplexing and Resistant Symptoms By Felix K. Liao, DDS The author shares two case reports involving a new treatment paradigm for patients. Epigenetics has become a defined and far-reaching field of study. Following Dr. G. Dave Singh’s ground-breaking Epigenetic Orthodontics for Adults in 2009, the author has turned some key epigenetic research into clinical practice. This article introduces clinical epigenetics as a novel solution to treat Impaired Mouth Syndrome: a wide-ranging set of medical, dental and mood symptoms arising from deficient jaws and airways. Two cases illustrate the limitations of conventional care and surprising breakthroughs from clinical epigenetics. Whole Health Integration vs. Symptom Patchwork The case of Brenda spotlights how Clinical Epigenetics can susb-tantially improve many oral-systemic symptoms: jaw clenching, sciatic pain, poor sleep hot flash, and even outliers such as lifelong nausea and gastroparesis. Figure 1 shows the same patient 10 months after starting Clinical Epigenetics. The "secret sauce" in this and every case: A more fully developed maxilla is foundational to dental-systemic health and a more attrac-tive face, regardless of age. This epigenetic regrowth is possible in adults, no matter the age. It is free of pain, medications, surgery or traditional orthodontic mechanics. • “Oral health is more than healthy teeth”, states US Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, in Oral Health America 2000. 6 That simple statement points out the obvi-ous that’s been lost on some dentists who see only teeth. • “…a paradigm is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns [in science and philosophy]” 7 • “Epigenetics has recently [2007] evolved from a collec-tion of diverse phenomena to a defined and far-reaching field of study.” 8 • “Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea in non-obese children is a disorder of oral facial growth.” 9 We dentists need to promote oral facial growth! A Primer on Epigenetics Epigenetics is “the study of how behavior and environment can affect how genes work”, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control. 1 Clinical Epigenetics starts Clinical Epigenetics The jury has been in since 2012: a structurally-impaired mouth results in pediatric OSA. What is adult OSA but pediatric OSA which has gone undiagnosed for decades. 6 Winter 2024 JAOS
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society JAOS Winter 2024: Page 6
