Soft Diets Shrink Growing Jaws

Chewing on dense foods as children stimulates jaw growth and usually ensures room for adult teeth, but our modern soft diet removes that stimulation and leads to stunted jaw growth, crowded teeth, and major orthodontic work for many people. When kids mainly eat soft, processed food, their jaws do not get the mechanical workout that tougher, more fibrous diets once provided. The weaker stimulus means the bones of the face can develop smaller and narrower than they otherwise would.

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