Stand Up Straight for Good Oral Health

Maintaining good posture can go a long way in keeping your bones aligned as nature intended, which allows your muscles to work smoothly and you to exert less effort. This means less soreness, which we’re always a fan of here at our Pike Creek dental office. But what some may not know is that your posture can also affect your oral health.

The Head Bone’s Connected to… All the Bones!

Your head is connected to your jaw, your jaw to your neck, your neck or your back… and on and on. But that’s why posture is so important. If one part of the chain is out of whack, it can throw off all the other parts. This connection is particularly true with your posture and your jaw. Most people stand or sit with their heads too far forward, placing strain on the muscles in the neck, shoulders, and jaw. This strain actually makes the head heavier, causing the muscles to react. What happens next? The shoulders fall forward, the jaw falls back, and your bite falls out of place. And a bad bite can lead a whole host of uncomfortable, and sometimes serious, concerns including TMJ disorder or cracked, damaged teeth.

Signs of a Poor Bite Caused by Poor Posture

• Pain in the jaw or neck
• Numbness in one hand
• Headaches
• Inability to clear ears

How’s Your Posture Measure Up?

Not sure if you have great, mediocre, or poor posture? Try one of these simple tests to find out.

• The Wall Test – Put the back of your head against the wall and your heels about six inches apart. Allow your buttocks to touch the wall and check the distance between your lower back and the wall, and your neck and the wall with your hand. Within an inch or two? Congratulations! You have near perfect posture.  
• The Mirror Test – Stand facing a full-length mirror and check for even shoulder height, a straight head, level hips, kneecaps that face forward, ankles that aren’t bent, and that the spaces between your arms and sides are equal. If you check all those boxes, you’re posture is in pretty good shape.

At our dental office in Pike Creek, we care about all aspects of our patients’ health. If you think you suffer from poor posture, talk to us about it. We’ll check out how it may be influencing your dental health and work with you fix it.

Serving patients from Pike Creek, Wilmington, Hockessin.

About The Author

Dr. Lewis Yu

Dr. Lewis Yu, who graduated with a dental degree, completed a two-year postgraduate oral surgery training in New York City and Pennsylvania. Board-certified in Naturopathic Medicine and Integrated Biological Dental Medicine, he practiced in Philadelphia and New Jersey before joining All About Smiles. Dr. Yu is affiliated with the Holistic Dental Association and Talkinternational.com.

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