Inform Dental

10/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 7 — “Picky eating may be protective”

WHAT IF “PICKY EATING” ISN'T JUST PICKY EATING?

Imagine giving a child a piece of steak.
They struggle to chew it.
They can't comfortably break it down.
They may gag or feel overwhelmed.
So what do they choose instead?
Soft foods.
Carbohydrates.
Predictable textures.
Foods that require less chewing.
From the outside, we might call this:
“Picky eating.”
But the Blueprint proposes another way of looking at it:
Could food preference sometimes be a protective response to an underlying functional limitation?
The child isn't necessarily choosing to be difficult.
Their nervous system may be choosing what feels safe and manageable.
This is why we need to look beyond the symptom.
Instead of:
❌ “They're just a fussy eater.”
We can ask:
✅ Can they chew effectively?
✅ Can they manage different textures?
✅ How is their tongue functioning?
✅ How are they swallowing?
✅ Are they breathing comfortably through their nose?
The goal is not to label the child.
The goal is to understand the child.
And that brings us back to the bigger picture:
Breathing. Chewing. Swallowing. Muscle function. Neurology. Growth.
They're not separate systems.
They're part of the same developing human.
As the twig is bent, so the tree grows.
And the earlier we understand the functional environment, the more opportunity we have to support healthy development.

09/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 6 — “The first 2 years matter”

THE FIRST 2 YEARS ARE NOT JUST ABOUT GROWING.
They're about learning how to function.

From birth, a child is developing a complex neurological and muscular system.
The Blueprint describes a progression through early development:
Phase 1
0–4 months
Early sucking, swallowing and primitive oral motor patterns.
Phase 2
4–6 months
Introduction of new textures and development of oral safety responses.
Phase 3
6–10 months
Teeth begin providing sensory feedback while chewing and oral exploration become increasingly important.
Phase 4
12–24 months
The child progresses toward more mature chewing and swallowing patterns.
These aren't simply milestones on a developmental checklist.
They are opportunities for the nervous system to learn functional patterns.
And this raises an important question:
What happens when those patterns don't develop normally?
Sometimes what looks like “picky eating” or “poor chewing” may be a clue that deserves a closer look.
Tomorrow:
Why “picky eating” may sometimes be a protective response.

08/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 5 — “Muscle dictates bone”

MUSCLE DICTATES BONE.
The forces applied to developing structures matter.

Bone isn't simply a rigid structure that develops independently.
During growth, it responds to its functional environment.
The Blueprint presents a fascinating relationship:
Chewing → muscular activity → mechanical forces → bone development
And this is particularly important during childhood.
Chewing provides physical loading.
Muscle activity provides signals.
Function helps create the environment in which growth occurs.
This gives us a very different perspective on orthodontics.
Instead of asking only:
“How do we move the teeth?”
we can also ask:
“What functional environment are these teeth growing within?”
Because if the underlying functional pattern doesn't change, simply changing the position of the teeth may not address the whole picture.
We shouldn't just straighten the teeth.
We should understand the system that supports them.
Tomorrow:
The first 24 months may be more important than you think.

07/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 4 — “The mouth is connected to the brain”

THE MOUTH IS NOT JUST FOR EATING.
It is a major sensory system.

One of the most fascinating concepts in the Facial Growth Blueprint is the relationship between the mouth and the nervous system.
The mouth provides an enormous amount of sensory information to the brain.
That means activities such as:
👅 Tongue movement
🍽️ Chewing
🥛 Swallowing
👄 Lip movement
🦷 Oral sensation
aren't simply mechanical actions.
They are also neurological experiences.
Early oral function helps the developing nervous system learn.
This is why we shouldn't think of swallowing as merely:
“moving food from the mouth to the stomach.”
It's also part of how the child is developing and refining motor patterns.
The mouth is constantly communicating with the brain.
And the brain is constantly communicating back.
The face is being built by a conversation between structure, muscle, sensation and function.
Tomorrow:
Why chewing may be one of the most underrated developmental exercises.

06/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 3 — “The palate is the tent”

THE PALATE IS THE TENT.
THE MUSCLES ARE THE GUIDE ROPES.

Imagine a tent.
The tent itself provides the structure.
But the guide ropes determine how that structure is supported and positioned.
The developing face works in a similar way.
The palate, jaw and surrounding structures don't develop in isolation.
They interact with the:
👅 Tongue
💪 Facial and oral muscles
🌬️ Airway
🧠 Nervous system
🦷 Teeth
One of the most important functional players is the tongue.
When the tongue rests appropriately against the palate, it becomes part of the environment supporting the developing upper jaw.
When tongue posture and function are compromised, the balance of forces can change.
Structure influences function.
Function influences structure.
That's why simply moving teeth isn't always the whole story.
We need to understand the muscles and behaviours that helped create the structure in the first place.
Tomorrow:
What does the nervous system have to do with facial growth?

05/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 2 — “There is no genetic code for crooked teeth”

THERE IS NO “GENETIC CODE” FOR CROOKED TEETH.
Genes provide the blueprint. Function helps shape the architecture.

We often hear:
“It runs in the family.”
And genetics certainly influence facial development.
But the blueprint isn't the whole story.
The developing face is constantly responding to its environment and function.
Think about the difference between:
Optimal function
→ nasal breathing
→ lips together
→ tongue resting against the palate
→ effective chewing
→ mature swallowing
versus
Compromised function
→ mouth breathing
→ low tongue posture
→ poor chewing
→ dysfunctional swallowing
→ altered muscle patterns
The question shouldn't simply be:
“Why are the teeth crooked?”
A better question might be:
“What happened to the environment in which these teeth developed?”
The teeth are often the visible result of a much bigger functional story.
Tomorrow we'll look at one of the most important pieces of that story:
The tongue.

04/10/2026

7-Day Instagram Series: Building the Human Face
DAY 1 — “We have normalised structural failure”

WE’VE NORMALISED STRUCTURAL FAILURE.
What if some of the things we call “normal” are actually signs that development has gone off track?

We often accept certain patterns as simply being part of childhood:
😴 Snoring
👄 Mouth breathing
🍽️ Picky eating
🦷 Crooked teeth
👅 Poor tongue posture
But what if these aren't isolated problems?
What if they are functional clues?
A healthy developing face isn't just about straight teeth. It is influenced by the interaction between:
Breathing + swallowing + chewing + muscle function + posture + nervous system development.
The goal isn't simply to treat the symptom we can see.
It's to understand why the system developed that way in the first place.
Because when we change the way we look at development, we change the way we treat it.
The face is not just a collection of bones and teeth. It is a functional system.
Tomorrow:
Why crooked teeth may not be a “genetic” problem.

05/09/2026

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08/08/2026

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