I spoke to Tony Wentzel, an Island dentist whose enthusiasm and passion for his practice, as well as human biology in general, was highly evident.

Having graduated from the University of Western Cape, South Africa in 1992, Tony has worked in the field of dentistry for over thirty years and is continually extending his knowledge in this area.

His research is constantly adapting to match the biological and cultural changes in society.

Tony's goal is for not just his clients, but for everyone to be healthy and thriving; and he emphasises the refocus of his work onto young people; due to the changes that young people have undergone in regards to how we all eat, breathe and function. Despite a lot of these oral issues in young people being categorized as being a genetic problem, a lot of these problems are actually associated with our diet, breathing patterns and posture.

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A hidden epidemic of shrinking jaws is behind many orthodontic and health issues, which is something that is being widely investigated by academics and researchers; and when speaking to Tony, he really honed in on the fact that these orthodontic issues are in fact treatable by preventative action that if taken now, that can help stave off future health burdens and chronic conditions.

Being aware of mouth-breathing was one of the main focuses of Tony's when discussing what we, as young people, can do to take preventative action against future health tribulations; due to biological changes in young people's facial composition which therefore affects how we, as individuals, breathe. Nasal breathing is advantageous in so many different ways; and has been proven to boost oxygen consumption, enhance respiratory function, reduce stress and improve cognitive function.

A simple trick that Tony suggested we can implement to fix mouth breathing is to get the tongue up in the palette and shutting the mouth; a lot of us subconsciously breathe through our mouth so it takes a conscious effort to get out of this habit and begin to nose-breathe, but by putting the tongue in the palette it helps aid the practice of nose breathing and makes it slightly easier to make a habit of.

Additionally, Tony discussed that by simply taking action to improve posture, this can also improve oral function as misalignments are proven to have a strong link to dental-problems.

By repositioning the body after a period of being slumped, this can help to realign the body and you can do so by standing up fully straight against a wall, and by doing chin tucks; which help to retract the chin muscles. Additionally, chewing something hard every day is also really important for our jaw and chin muscles; as food nowadays are designed around convenience, but it is very crucial for us to exercise our jaw by eating something solid.

Oral health is such an important component of the whole body of healthcare; and Tony's core mission as a dental professional is for everyone to be healthy, happy and take pride in their smile. Tony's work ethic, professionalism and knowledge is highly inspiring; and hopefully we can all begin to implement his advice into our daily lives :)