Asymmetrical Bite Could Signify Early Life Stress

The process used by anthropologists to assess skulls and teeth for asymmetrical bite may prove valuable to living populations as an indicator of environmental stress, according to a University of Washington (UW) School of Dentistry study. The primary marker used to identify early life stress is low birth weight, however, this measurement only serves as a marker until birth, rather than the desired 1000 days. The study, “Lower Face Asymmetry as a Marker for Developmental Instability,” published in the American Journal of Human Biology, reports an asymmetric bite may indicate early life stresses that occur after birth.

Using data from a 1966–1970 National Health Examination Survey of 6654 12- to 17-year-olds, researchers found that one in four had lower-facial asymmetries. According to corresponding author, Philippe Hujoel, PhD, DDS, MSD, MS, a professor of oral health sciences at the UW School of Dentistry, “Such lower-face asymmetries can be assessed by looking at the dental bite in the permanent teeth — an exam that can be completed in seconds and with more certainty than a mother’s recall of birth weight and more ease than a search for a birth certificate.”

Investigators note future research is needed to determine whether lower-facial asymmetries are predictive of chronic disease.

From Decisions in Dentistry. June 2017;3(6):10.