Education is Freedom
Paulo Friere
Six-Foot Tiger, Three-Foot Cage: Take Charge of Your Health by Taking Charge of Your Mouth
by Dr. Felix Liao, DDS
“The mouth-airway connection is even more foundational to health and survival than food and water, and oxygen level is a pivotal factor in chronic infections and periodontal-heart disease inflammation.”
For many of us, your tongue is that tiger – unnaturally constrained by the unnaturally small cage that is our jaw. Years of bad posture, poor tongue positioning and nutritional deficiencies through our formative years have led to an impaired mouth and a pinched airway. For the many chronic mouth-breathers out there, this is an unconscious truth.
The holistic and synergistic nature of our bodies is no more clearly demonstrated than by observing the plethora of health effects this impairment can cause, ranging from sleep apnea to gut inflammation to chronic anxiety and depression. The basis for these knock-on health effects stems largely from our constricted yet powerful tongues blocking our airway, thus reducing oxygen flow to every cell and every organ in our bodies.
The good news is there are ways to correct our facial structure and widen that cage – even in our later years! Dr Felix Liao, a holistic physician, passionately details case after case study of patients being treated for ‘impaired mouth syndrome’ in which chronic ailments are but a symptom. Through the use of oral biomimetic appliances, the very core of facial, dental and skeletal issues are addressed, leading to long-term health and longevity.
Contrary to mainstream thought, the sutures that hold our various facial bones in place are not rigid, but contain a host of craniofacial stem cells that can adapt, repair, regenerate and remodel bone at these sutures. Activation of these stem cells occurs through sustained pressure, provided by such oral appliances. This theory also shares common ground with the practice of “mewing”, in which applying consistent and sustained pressure of the tongue against the palate widens the dental arches and moves the maxilla forward, thereby allowing forward movement of the mandible and releasing the tiger from it’s cage.
The information presented in these pages is nothing short of a revolution in healthcare.