Fig. 8 Fig. 9 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Fig. 8: Retruded maxilla and mandible (pre-Biobloc). Fig. 9: Forward maxilla and mandible (post-Biobloc). Notice more protrusive profile and associated increase in posterior airway volume (red arrows) on the post-Biobloc images. Adapted from Hockel 2011. A significant relationship (reduction) has been demonstrated between the pre-and post-treatment posterior airway volume and the retraction distance of lower incisors in this study. Fig. 10: Posterior airway volume before bicuspid-extraction/incisor-retraction Tx. Adapted from Wang et al, Angle Orthodontist 2011. Fig. 11: Posterior airway volume after bicuspid-extraction/incisor-retraction Tx. Adapted from Wang et al, Angle Orthodontist 2011. Western lifestyle and foods (i.e., soft-ened/highly processed, fatty, salty, sweetened, etc.) are major causes of two plaque-mediated (dieto-infectous) oral maladies, dental caries and peri-odontal disease. 29 These dental CNCDs, like their systemic counter-parts, are often referred to as diseases of civilization or Western-lifestyle diseases. Although many anthropolo-gists and other scientists have suggested that malocclusion is another Western-lifestyle related disease, this view does not yet seem to be accepted by the dental community. As dental and other allied-health professionals become better informed about the evolutionary history of the human genome, and how its relative plasticity and ability to respond to harsh and ever-changing feeding environments has allowed us to survive as a species into the present day, it should become easier to understand that malocclusion is indeed, a dental disease of civilization . Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Robert Perlman, MD, PhD (The University of Chicago), Philippe Hujoel, DDS, PhD (The University of Washington) and John Mew, DDS (The London School of Orthotropics) for their editorial input and shared interest in the topic of Darwinian Dentistry. Editor’s Note: Article references are avail-able upon request or for download in the digital version at www.orthodontics.com. www.orthodontics.com November/December 2011 39
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society November-December 2011: Page 39
