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Paul Ehrlich
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Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic 1st Edition

by Sandra Kahn (Author), Paul R. Ehrlich (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 517 ratings
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There's a silent epidemic in western civilization, and it is right under our noses. Our jaws are getting smaller and our teeth crooked and crowded, creating not only aesthetic challenges but also difficulties with breathing. Modern orthodontics has persuaded us that braces and oral devices can correct these problems. While teeth can certainly be straightened, what about the underlying causes of this rapid shift in oral evolution and the health risks posed by obstructed airways?

Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich, a pioneering orthodontist and a world-renowned evolutionist, respectively, present the biological, dietary, and cultural changes that have driven us toward this major health challenge. They propose simple adjustments that can alleviate this developing crisis, as well as a major alternative to orthodontics that promises more significant long-term relief. Jaws will change your life. Every parent should read this book.

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  1. ISBN-10
    9781503604131
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1503604131
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Stanford University Press
  5. Publication date
    April 10, 2018
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
  8. Print length
    216 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paul Ehrlich is the world's best-known and most distinguished ecologist, and one of the best known figures in any field of science. Now, teaming up with Sandra Kahn, he offers us his most personal and practical book to date. You'll discover the widespread consequences of how you carry out such seemingly mundane, automatic, and repetitive acts as breathing, smiling, and sleeping―and how your ways of doing those things affect peoples' perceptions of you. Read, enjoy, learn, and prepare to be astonished!"―Jared Diamond, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

"The specialty of orthodontics has the potential to lead the way out of this epidemic of chronic disease (including malocclusion). We need only read and understand this book first."―Barry Raphael, Head of the Raphael Center for Integrative Orthodontics

"People have some power to protect their children from this serious and cryptic environmental problem. Jaws lays out both causes and cures."―Gretchen C. Daily, Bing Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University

Jaws is a must read for every parent on this planet. It addresses the causes of our chronic health crisis and tells us how to prevent it while correcting our faces, jaws and airways. Airway health will give the most added value for this generation's overall wellness."―Michael Gelb DDS, MS

"Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic is a well-researched book providing unique overview and insight in to a healthcare problem frequently overlooked by child healthcare professionals. Sleep is likely as important to health and well-being as food, but receives little attention. This book is an important read for all professionals who care for children. It also asks questions for possible future research in the field of pediatric obstructive sleep disordered breathing."―Stephen H. Sheldon, author of Principles and Practice of Pediatric Sleep Medicine

"Drs. Kahn and Ehrlich's cogent narrative describing the structural, functional and behavioral changes in the human species truly challenges the cultural and educational orthodoxies in the West's disease management healthcare system. It begs the question, 'why did it take so long to bring this enlightened insight into mainstream thought with all the available evidence presented?' The answer to this question is meticulously answered in the very readable pages of this important work; read on!"―Mark A. Cruz, DDS, The Airway and Facial Development Collaborative

"Elucidation of what can be called a classic public health risk factor for a little understood disease, one with heavy influence of both social determinants and individual behaviors as well as their interactions."―Kirk R. Smith, University of California, Berkeley

"Your Oral Posture is your future."―John Mew, Head of the London School of Facial Orthotropics

"Every parent wants their child to grow strong and healthy. Orthodontics chosen for your child can be the most important choice to give a structural foundation to health. Sandra and Paul present important information that any parent should know about in order to give their children the cranial facial structure for beauty and health. This is a brilliant work by two brilliant scientists."―Mark Abrahamson, Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine

"This manuscript looks beyond the flashy smile that so many of us pay our orthodontists for and asks the hard question: Why is it we are almost all born with the faces of angels, yet so few maintain that face value of our innate and inborn beauty? The answer revealed is intriguing, thought provoking and a much needed call to action to fight for the fullest physical potential for all our children. A must read!"―Simon Wong, BDSc., London School of Facial Orthotropics

"Everyone who is concerned about health needs to have this information."―William M. Hang DDS, MSD

"About 90 percent of our children have bite problems. When more than 50 percent of a population has a problem it is an epidemic. Sandra Kahn and Paul Ehrlich present the causes and consequences of this epidemic affecting our young generations. This book educates the public and dental community on treating and preventing the underlying problem, instead of just aligning teeth."―German Ramirez-Yañez DDS, MDSc, MSc, PhD

"Every new parent should chew on this book. Who knew that how we suckle, chew and breathe as an infant can set us off on a course toward serious orthodontic treatment, a life of sleep apnea, cardiovascular problems and sudden death while sleeping? Kahn and Ehrlich clearly and comprehensively describe a hidden epidemic that impairs the health of far too many people, young and old. They explore the causes of the epidemic, and crucially, provide practical advice that helps you prevent the epidemic from affecting your child, or amazingly, how its progress can be reversed in childhood if it has already started. This book should be in every new mom's care package when she leaves the hospital."―John Peterson Myers, Chief Scientist, Environmental Health Sciences

"Sandra Kahn and Paul Ehrlich clearly define and explain the hidden epidemic that exists around us. Emphasizing prevention and cure rather than symptom management, this book is a must read."―Dror Aizenbud, DMD, MSc, Rambam Medical Campus, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

"This epidemic has important consequences for heart health. I'm delighted Jaws is bringing it home to both citizens and health care professionals."―Dr. John S. Schroeder, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University

About the Author

Dr. Sandra Kahn, D.D.S., M.S.D., is a graduate from the University of Mexico and the University of the Pacific. She has 25 years of clinical experience in orthodontics and has been part of the craniofacial anomalies teams at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. Her graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley was on physical anthropology and human craniofacial growth and development. She practices pediatric sleep apnea prevention and whole-body treatment, addressing body and oral posture to develop stronger jaws which fit all 32 teeth and house large healthy airways. She is an international lecturer, has published two books, Let's Face It and GOPex – Good Oral Posture Exercises!, and has translated Dr. John Mew's The Cause and Cure of Malocclusion into Spanish. She is currently the only Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics that practices exclusively Biobloc Orthotropics, and is co-founder of the project zeroto15, which proposes addressing airway growth from pre-conception until 15 years through transdisciplinary teams that foster healthy lifestyles. Paul R. Ehrlich has been a household name since the publication of his 1968 bestseller, The Population Bomb. He is Bing Professor of Population Studies Emeritus and President of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. Ehrlich is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the Crafoord Prize (an explicit substitute for the Nobel Prize in fields of science where the latter is not given), the Blue Planet Prize, and numerous other international honors. He investigates a wide range of topics in population biology, ecology, evolution, human ecology, and environmental science. Much of his current effort is focused on the mechanisms of human cultural evolution and ways of directing that evolution to ameliorate the human predicament.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1503604136
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stanford University Press; 1st edition (April 10, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781503604131
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1503604131
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 517 ratings

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Paul Ehrlich

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Top reviews from the United States

Albert
5.0 out of 5 stars Short and clear overview of more complex topic
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
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understand how to observe cultural changes and the effect that they have on our health
2 people found this helpful
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Sylvia
5.0 out of 5 stars Posture and breathing are so important!
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024
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When we breathe about 20,000. 30,000 times per day and do it inefficiently, we harm our bodies. Breathing patterns can change even the pH of the body and also how our faces look. Cave men had no cavities. Their dental arches were wide enough to allow wisdom teeth to be present. They chewed natural foods and developed facial muscles accordingly. They breathed through their noses. When we processed our food to soften it and added certain elements, when we breathed through our mouths, we altered our faces, and not in a positive way. Simple changes to breathing patterns over time can change all of that, requiring less dental/orthodontial intervention, reducing cavities, and returning our flattened faces to their lovely forward posture. Nearly every child born during the last 100 years has had some intervention that hadn’t been necessary before. We need to return to practices that created functional and healthy bodies.
3 people found this helpful
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David Littlefield
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Point of View
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2019
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Good read, interesting topic. Need more data to be all onboard
2 people found this helpful
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Anonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing read!
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2024
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Everyone should read this book! I'm giving it to everyone I know!
One person found this helpful
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Christopher Naujokas
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!!! Beautiful quality book
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2023
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Incredible information!! Anyone who works in healthcare should read. I’m a family medicine resident physician and this book really opened my eyes. I now sleep with mouth tape, chew chewing gum, hold my jaw at rest differently, sleep better and my mental health has improved!!
17 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
A bit repetitive, but so important. Our faces are deformed because of poor oral posture.

If you want the tl;dr of what to do (not medical advice!), here it is:
-breathe through your nose as much as possible, including when exercising
-chew hard foods or gum (I like mastic gum) to strengthen your jaw
-sleep with medical tape over your mouth to force yourself to breathe through your nose while asleep
-the default state of your mouth should be: lips together, top teeth gently resting on bottom teeth (don't clench), and tongue at the roof of your mouth
-all of these interventions are more effective the earlier in life one does them, so start today (and start your kids on them, too!)

If you want to learn more, check out Orthotropics on YouTube (not affiliated, just think this topic is important).
145 people found this helpful
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Christopher Anthony
3.0 out of 5 stars A plausible look at the importance of posture
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2024
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This book offered a plausible explanation for crooked teeth, a good narrative, and pictures and motivation for adopting a straight posture. I am not an orthodontist or dentist, but the concepts made sense to me. The book has informed my understanding of what constitutes "good posture" to include the neck and jaw, and changed the way I think about my own posture.

I wish the book and the authors proved the effectiveness of the approach within the orthodontia community, and offered more coverage of the criticisms to orthotropics/forwardontics. For example, I would have liked to know more about how many patients pursue forwardontics, how their compliance is measured, and the distribution of results for non-compliant and compliant patients. I believe the book's message mostly because of my intuition; the book's main evidence is historical account coupled with anecdotal descriptions of jaw shape, and a cruel study on rhesus monkeys. The book asserts its mechanisms and their importance strongly enough that I'm surprised at the lack of studies on the proposed treatments.

I liked this book and thought it was a good introduction to a plausible idea. I hope that someone takes the flag to prove that these treatments work on the general population.
6 people found this helpful
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Lana Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars Most interesting information about how mouth breathing is not good for you.
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023
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It actually shows pictures about how faces and teeth become distorted by mouth breathing.
10 people found this helpful
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Carlos V.
1.0 out of 5 stars The quality of the book is terrible
Reviewed in Mexico on April 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
It seems that the book was destroyed from the lower part and yet, it was sent as new. Terrible quality
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Carlos V.
1.0 out of 5 stars The quality of the book is terrible
Reviewed in Mexico on April 10, 2023
It seems that the book was destroyed from the lower part and yet, it was sent as new. Terrible quality
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Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars read this short book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2024
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Read this book. You will have a better understanding of the importance of correct oral posture (and know what it means) which might help your health in the long run. Definitely read this if you have children of any age. This might just save you a ton of money in orthodontic bills (and help your children health in the long run)

Must read.
One person found this helpful
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AK
3.0 out of 5 stars Inhaltlich in Ordnung
Reviewed in Germany on August 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
Es lässt sich gut lesen und bringt „neues“ Wissen, aber auf ca. 150 Seiten finde ich, dass sich viel zu oft wiederholt wird. Das Buch könnte inhaltlich bestimmt auf 100 Seiten (mit allen Bildern beibehalten) reduzieren.
Es ist vielleicht auch nicht für jeden etwas das es Fakten-auf-Fakten geschrieben ist (die sich dann wie beschrieben häufig wiederholen).
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Mohammed Jawad Ali
3.0 out of 5 stars Important read for parents with young children.
Reviewed in India on March 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
It's a study of orthodontics by an ecologist Paul Ehrlich and dental doctor Sandra Kahn. It is a book about Jaws, an epidemic affecting the developed world. It talks about its origins, how it was discovered, its cure and prevention. The goal of this book is to develop awareness of jaw related habits that may result in dramatic changes for the worse and what can be done to kick those habits and create a better future. As a parent of young children, this book starts off interestingly and then shifts you into panic-mode to keep an eye on your children's breathing and eating habits. It definitely helps you to fall back on traditional ways of upbringing that you often heard from your grand parents to sit straight, chew well, keep your mouth closed which is often forgotten in industrialised societies these days.
Keeping all the things in mind, the authors do state that much of these theories and relations that are mentioned are not proven scientifically and it's their theory that they are leaning on. Much of it might be true, much of it might be not but It helps you to be cautious of yourself, your oral health and possible consequences if you are not conscious about it. In the end, for parents of young kids, no need to panic, as the authors themselves convey in the book,
"Our goal is to make you aware of the many possible consequences of poor oral-facial health, not to convince you that a child who is a mouth breather is condemned to a short life of misery or that correcting its jaw development will guarantee a long, healthy, happy life.
Customer image
Mohammed Jawad Ali
3.0 out of 5 stars Important read for parents with young children.
Reviewed in India on March 23, 2023
It's a study of orthodontics by an ecologist Paul Ehrlich and dental doctor Sandra Kahn. It is a book about Jaws, an epidemic affecting the developed world. It talks about its origins, how it was discovered, its cure and prevention. The goal of this book is to develop awareness of jaw related habits that may result in dramatic changes for the worse and what can be done to kick those habits and create a better future. As a parent of young children, this book starts off interestingly and then shifts you into panic-mode to keep an eye on your children's breathing and eating habits. It definitely helps you to fall back on traditional ways of upbringing that you often heard from your grand parents to sit straight, chew well, keep your mouth closed which is often forgotten in industrialised societies these days.
Keeping all the things in mind, the authors do state that much of these theories and relations that are mentioned are not proven scientifically and it's their theory that they are leaning on. Much of it might be true, much of it might be not but It helps you to be cautious of yourself, your oral health and possible consequences if you are not conscious about it. In the end, for parents of young kids, no need to panic, as the authors themselves convey in the book,
"Our goal is to make you aware of the many possible consequences of poor oral-facial health, not to convince you that a child who is a mouth breather is condemned to a short life of misery or that correcting its jaw development will guarantee a long, healthy, happy life.
Images in this review
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2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!
Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Everyone should read this. It would've saved me a fortune in dentist bills, and much pain had I read something like this earlier. Better late than never though!
One person found this helpful
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