Science, Orthodontics, and the Gillespie Approach
This essay continues my hypothesis connecting science, orthodontic care, and the Gillespie Approach.
All 52 tooth bud cells are present during the embryonic stage of development. The baby teeth start forming at six weeks and the adult teeth at four months. As fascial strain patterns develop in the growing fetus, all of the teeth can be in play, possibly creating a future malocclusion.
The bones of the head and face are formed from softer intramembraneous tissue, which allows for malleability as the head passes through the birth canal. Since a newborn’s skull has the consistency of a milk carton, the Gillespie Approach can restore normal cranial symmetry and function more easily when the full body fascial strains are worked out at birth.
As the skull ossifies during the first year, therapy can still be very helpful, but the golden window of opportunity of time is closing. At five or six years of age, the sutures lose their smooth rounded edges and develop a sawtooth interdigitation with connective tissue in between the bones. Trying to create a symmetrical head and face now becomes more challenging.
Considering that all of the soft tissue structures like the tongue, floor of the mouth, nasal and throat linings, oral ties, and muscles of mastication are also connected in the fascial web, one can appreciate the magnitude of the soft tissue injuries occurring during those 40 weeks.
The distinct aspect of the web is that a distorted pelvis can create a fascial twist running through the trunk, shoulders, neck, head, and into the jaws and teeth. So the orthodontic problem may not be an isolated tooth or bite issue that can just be “fixed” orally, but may be a part of a systemic physiologic condition affecting the entire body. Dentistry needs to embrace this concept.
I believe the Gillespie Approach needs to compliment orthodontic care for authentic healing. Better yet, prevention at birth makes more sense.
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