The maxilla and mandible are two bony areas of the head of utmost importance
to survival......HYPOMANDIBLES (micrognathia) are already recorded to have
high occurance in PRENATAL DEATH and SIDs deaths and SLEEP APNEA at all
ages....AND hypertension and cardiovascular disease...AIRWAY BLOCKAGE.

REGARDING:  Clenchers, Clampers, HypoMandibles, TMJs of infants...as I
suspect un-diagnosed jaw and maxilla birth trauma and under-development to be
very common....near birth.  If birth can make a CONE-HEAD then it too can
make a HYPOMANDIBLE and A OMPRESSED MAXILLA!!!  TMJ in adults can be
DEBILITATING....NOTE: Burt Reynolds 3 year bout with it....so how much more
might this "dysfunction" place on an infant trying to LATCH?

HYPOMANDIBLE can be effected by a newer technique of osseous distraction
(I'll hear more on this this fall from Dr. Jose Lius Molina) or later in life
age 5-12 by Functional Jaw Orthopedics.

MAXILLA & MANDIBLE GROWTH  occurs at a high rate in the first year of
life...but not enough to make up for true deformed HYPO status, and not
enough to be corrected by BF although BF will aid in forward growth as
opposed to FF and Pacifier use which places backward forces...increasing HYPO
status.

PLEASE TELL ME MORE:  Define these clenchers, clampers, for studies seem to
indicate a high mortality prenatal of hypomandible infants....and I need to
know if you the clinicians observe a higher occurance of either and/or all in
vaginal and forcep births.....etc.

PS: If TMJ in adults is to remain such a "muddle"...think how much longer jaw
dysfunction in infants will remain UN-DIAGNOSED and UN-TREATED.

Thanks,
DCPage, DDS
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