Dr. Sandra Kahn – Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic


Dr. Sandra Kahn joins me to talk about a silent epidemic affecting our population, narrow jaws. She discusses why this is such a huge problem, the habits we need to be teaching children in order to develop muscles for healthy jaws and teeth. She also shares why as adults we also need to be chewing and not just drinking smoothies or eating soft foods. Sandra explains her own approach 'forwardontics' and how it differs from the traditional approach to straightening teeth.

Selected Links from the Episode

Dr. Sandra Kahn book Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic
Dr. Sandra Kahn website
Unstress episode with Dr. Paul Ehrlich on global challenges
Unstress episode with Rosalba Courtney on breathing
Unstress episode with Dr. Anup Desai on sleeping
Weston A. Price website

Download the PDF transcription
Dr. Ron Ehrlich: Hello and welcome to “Unstress”. My name is Dr. Ron Ehrlich. Now in a recent episode, I spoke to the author of the book “Jaws - The Story Of A Hidden Epidemic”, world-famous environmental biologists and ecologist, Professor Paul R. Ehrlich. My guest today is the co-author of that book Dr. Sandra Kahn.

Now Sandra is a specialist orthodontist as well as a physical anthropologist. The hidden epidemic is something that affects almost everyone to some degree in our modern world. That is not enough room for all of the 32 teeth we have evolved to have over millions of years.

Now if we suddenly in evolutionary terms say over a period of a few thousand years or even a hundred years, didn't have enough room for all five fingers on our hands I'm sure we would not be as blasé about it. We’d be asking “What the hell's going on? No, I do not want my finger removed”. Even the dental profession has come to accept narrow jaws and crowded teeth as a normal part of life without very much significance. Well, it is significant as you will hear.

In many recent episodes, we've explored the importance of breathing well through your nose not your mouth and we've discussed the importance of getting a consistently good night's sleep. That's a function of quantity. Getting enough sleep and quality breathing well while you're asleep. So, not having enough room for your teeth means narrow jaws and that means narrow upper airways and that is the hidden epidemic going on right underneath our noses. I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with Dr. Sandra Kahn.
Download the PDF transcription
Welcome to the show Sandra.

Dr. Sandra Kahn: Thank you very much, thank you for having me.

Dr. Ron Ehrlich: I did speak to Paul your co-author you've written this wonderful book “Jaws - The story of a hidden epidemic” and I loved it, it's a beautifully written book very accessible and some great references and that, but I want to talk about that but tell me, I want to hear a little bit about yourself because you're an orthodontist.

Dr. Sandra Kahn: Yes, I went to dental school and then I got very interested in growth and development or development of the cranium. So, I was always interested in how we were developing then I became an orthodontist not just to straighten teeth, but I just wanted to really understand how the face developed and then after orthodontics, I did work in Physical Anthropology which I found incredibly interesting. And one thing led to another and I realized that you know, just like you've read in the book, that the crooked teeth are really a consequence of the just not having developed to their genetic potential and that's why the teeth don't fit.

Dr. Ron Ehrlich: Now when you were studying orthodontics because you went through dental school and then you did your specialty of the orthodontics, what was the standard you know because the question is why is it so and so why was it thought in dental school in orthodontics specialties that teeth are crooked?

Dr. Sandra Kahn: Yeah, the whole health area it's not that focused on the reasons why things are happening.