The saying “beauty is only skin deep” has become a familiar cliché, often used to downplay the significance of beauty in comparison to inner qualities. Of course, overall attractiveness encompasses important qualities such as behaviour, intellectual and emotional intelligence, compassion, and the expression of our energetic nature, but this does not need to subordinate the additional role physical appearance plays in our lives.
In reality, beneath your skin lies an intricate system of muscles, and beneath those muscles lie foundational bones. As a society, we often overlook this reality, treating facial features as if they are merely painted on the surface of a round head. Instead of viewing beauty solely as a surface-level attribute, take a moment to recognise the complexity involved in shaping a face.
What if you were told that the external beauty of your face fluctuates in response to the environmental pressures you subject your mouth, tongue, jaws, and nose to? Katrina Fahey’s book: Beauty is Bone Deep, details amongst other things, lifestyle modifications that have occurred spanning the last 100 years in developed nations that have resulted in significantly reduced jaw growth and size.
This extremely limited view leaves many people feeling self-conscious or defeated, instead of properly taking measures to resolve their development issues and restore the health of their body. When realising that both environment and genetics govern facial form, you can come to appreciate that a beautiful face is one that forms optimally for function.
Beauty, health, and happiness are deeply intertwined in a collaborative cycle that deserves recognition. Not only does experiencing external beauty boost our self-perception and inner strength, but it also has physiological effects. Scientific research supports the idea that when our bodies and brains are functioning optimally, it positively impacts our cognition and performance. The beauty-health-happiness loop not only brings emotional fulfilment, but also offers tangible benefits for overall well-being.
Beauty is Bone Deep challenges mainstream views on everything from the foods we consume, orthodontic dentistry methods, and even plastic surgery we consider as ‘necessary’, giving evidence to support the assertions that if we study generational evolution of our facial bone structure, all isn’t what it seems.
Palate expansion is an orthodontic procedure that involves widening the upper jaw (maxilla) by developing the size and shape of the mouth roof. This non surgical procedure gradually creates more breadth to the base of the nasal passage and more space in the mouth for the tongue to suction high and forward. This technique is used to address issues such as crowded teeth, narrow dental arches, crossbites, flat cheeks, sunken facial features and poor breathing. Palate expansion can be achieved using devices like palatal expanders, which apply gentle pressure to gradually separate the bones of the palate, allowing for new bone to form so that the midface grows to its optimal size and shape to accommodate teeth and improve bite function. This procedure is possible for children and adults of all ages. Skilled orthodontists can begin from age 4 onwards.
Palate expansion has been performed for many decades but it was first believed to only be for children since they were still in the growing phase of life. Some orthodontists believed that palate expansion wouldn’t work for adults since the mid palatal suture fuses in early adulthood. There is a common misconception that adult palate expansion instead “tips the teeth”. This is not the case as we now know that placing the devices properly in the roof of the mouth, only applies pressure to the palatal bones, that bones undergo remodelling throughout life depending on the continuous forces experienced, and that the adult sutures can reopen and allow for new bone osteoblasts to form in their place.
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Katrina Fahey, a Masters student at James Cook University studying Lifestyle Medicine, is a craniofacial health coach well versed in evolution and anthropology.
