Baseline of upper teeth: (a) Control organ for spatial navigation? (b) Weak point for misaligned posture and pain?

Abstract

Our observations question both the current doctrine of spatial orientation as processed by vestibular, visual and proprioceptive impressions as well as the horizontal alignment of the eye axis. Indeed our observations suggest spatial orientation as a physically based, largely mechanically transmitted interaction between individual and environment. It is controlled by an interface defined by the baseline of upper teeth. It simultaneously constitutes both body and environment acting as an integral part of that environment. Consequently, the baseline of upper teeth is part of the aforementioned environment. Instead of the eye axis during spatial orientation it aligns the true horizontal absolutely. This was tested by fixing a cross to upper teeth. While walking, running and jumping it did not deviate by more than 2° from the external axis. Subsequently, we inclined the baseline of upper teeth by inserting an asymmetric wafer so that it angulated the eye axis. Immediately, head, visual and vestibular axes tilted unstably with misaligned body posture. Only the indicative cross remained stably aligned to the external axes. The person felt “upright”, not noticing his posture had changed. He was then instructed to straighten his shoulders and trunk until his posture was objectively nearly upright again. The voluntary correction caused the indicative cross to tilt. The person felt uneven while being more upright. We concluded that the automatic posture works by “synchronizing” the baseline of upper teeth to the external axis and that the synchronized position is supported by the vestibular system.Benefit of an interface is that the body’s movements in the environment simultaneously happen within the baseline of upper teeth. Therein the vectors of the body and the environment are calculated to remain in balance. This model introduces the transmission of the vector information to postural muscles by the dura mater, controlled by tension between C0-C2. The information is skewed by bony dislocations between C0-C2 caused by an inclination of the interface. The resulting misalignments of posture are foreseeable and specifically correspond to the type of inclination. They occur in a broad section of the population. Diagnosed as muscular weakness, they may cause therapy resistant common diseases like back and joint pain after 5–10 years. Following our observations, the inclination of the baseline of upper teeth originates from inattentive changes in the length of upper teeth in dental treatment. Multiple treatments optimizing teeth length in long term patients improved the patients’ situation.