A very interesting article on the evolution of teeth...

It’s true that bone is a plastic tissue and responds to the stresses placed on it. We recently visited the Mary Rose in Portsmouth and some of the bones of the skeletons found in the ship had deformities as a result of the type of work their owners had been engaged in.
As far as teeth are concerned, if it were as simple as the article implies, orthodontists could treat crowded teeth just by prescribing jaw exercises.
It’s actually a bit more complicated than that. Genetics plays a part too.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3420844/
“Evidence gained from population studies, especially family and twin studies, have shown that genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of malocclusions.3–5 On the other hand, research on siblings and even identical twins suggests a significant role for environmental factors besides genetic factors in the development of occlusion.”

Some people have bigger or smaller jaws just like big or small noses.
One of my granddaughters didn’t have a single tooth until she was 14 months old and still has a tiny mouth and chin. She’s got most of her adult teeth now and they’re not at all crowded.

How interesting. I've had a lot of dental work over the years and the last dentist who did all my implants explained that we need 10 pairs of teeth to chew properly - I didn't have this so he took many months ensuring I ended up with as near to it as he could make it. As my husband has sleep apnoea and poor teeth I wonder if the two are connected.

Now.... how to tell the DC they're bringing my DGC up wrongly!

It's amazing what you find out at 6am. It all makes sense though.

It caught my eye farmor because I noticed my little grandson (age 3) doesn't chew his food properly. So now I shall be on his case

Interesting article - I wonder how much less orthodontic treatment would be needed if children had to chew tougher food.