EVERY dentist, speech therapist AND Lactation Consultant in the world should
have noticed Michael Phelp's malocclusion if they have watched him receive his
Olympic metals and when he was interviewed!   He is an exceptional athlete.
He also sounds like an outstanding individual who people can look up to and
admire.

I was very impressed that Jennifer's 16 year old daughter noticed his classic
bottle fed face structure.   Despite his athletic prowess, he does have an
open mouth posture, malocclusion, slightly narrowed face and hyperactivity of
the muscles around his mouth that could indicate some challenges he might have.
 I thought this would be a beautiful teaching opportunity to explain these
challenges and the reasons for them.

Phelp's open mouth posture, malocclusion and slightly narrowed facial
structure, jumped out at me immediately while watching the ceremonies and interviews.
  I believe he is either tongue tied, and / or was bottle fed and / or was an
excessive pacifiers user, or digit sucker and / or had enlarged tonsils or
other airway obstruction when he was young.   His facial characteristics are
classical to all, or any of, these conditions.   His usual open mouth posture
indicated he may be a mouth breather.   His mouth is rarely stationary - it is
nearly always moving.   Mouth breathing can dry out the lips, which accounts for
the constant licking of his lips.   His slightly narrowed dental arch width,
which has caused some tooth crowding, indicates he may have a high palate.

Since the bone that forms the roof of the mouth is also the same bone that
forms the floor of the nose, the higher the roof of the mouth, the smaller the
space in the nasal chamber.   The smaller the nasal chamber, the greater the
resistance to airflow through the nose.

Narrow faces, high palates and narrow dental arches are risk factors for
obstructive sleep apnea - OSA.   Sleep apnea is a risk factor for attention
deficit disorders and waking up groggy in the morning.   During a TV interview with
Michael's mother, she stated he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -
ADHD - when he was young.   Often childhood OSA can contribute to ADHD.
Most often childhood ADHD is due to airway obstuction and sleep / breathing
problems due to enlarged tonsils.   A risk factor for enlarged tonsils is not
receiving the immunological benefits of mother's milk during breasfeeding.
Loading a child down with sugar at breakfast is also a major contributor to ADHD.
I THINK his mother also stated that early morning was NOT Michael's best time.
  People with OSA usually do not feel refreshed when they wake up.

I have not personally looked into Michael's mouth, but from an outward
appearance, he may be at risk of having, or eventually developing OSA.   There are
many health consequences to OSA - including high blook pressure, heart attack,
stroke and daytime sleepiness.   I am hoping Michael has been evaluated to
rule out OSA or Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome.   It might also be a good idea
for him to be evaluated to see if he has a tight lingual frenum and / or
abnormal tongue activity / reverse swallow.

If you have an interest in learning a little more about abnormal tongue
activity and facial form, I would like to give you an assignment to compare Phelp's
swallowing pattern with videos on a Queensland, Australia company's website.
 The link to that site is:
http://www.myoresearch.com/cms/index.php?id=153,215,0,0,1,0

Start with - Soft Tissue Dysfunction Composite Video - Note hyperactivity of
girl's perio-oral musculature at the end of that video.   Then watch:
Reverse Swallow - 2nd video - of a girl swallowing.   Then watch: Mouth Breathing -
2nd video - of a boy swallowing - Note similarity to Phelp's malocclusion.
Compare with Normal Swallow - #3 video - of a girl with a normal swallow.

Now compare what you saw in these videos to Phelp's mouth / breathing /
swallowing patterns.

Phelp's has compensated beautifully for any challenges that have been thrown
at him.   Some people may not be as fortunate.

Phelp's oral development challenges MAY be due to the fact that he MAY be
tongue tied.   It really bothers me when I hear that a healthcare provider tells
someone there are no consequences to having a tight frenum.   I guess they
have never received a letter like the following one I received:
http://brianpalmerdds.com/pdf/True_Story_of_Frenums.pdf

Sorry for the length of this note, but thought some of you might be
interested in the information.   Please feel free to share this note with others if you
would like.

Brian Palmer, DDS
Leawood, Kansas, USA
[log in to unmask]
www.brianpalmerdds.com





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