Concept visualization · redrawn with AI tools

Somatic Dentistry

Reading the evidence on teeth and the brain

A research archive that reads the original studies linking the teeth, brain and body, and keeps established anatomy apart from connections that are still hypotheses.

Occlusion / Periodontal ligament / Trigeminal / BrainstemScroll down

Definition and evidence map

  • Established (solid)
  • Observed in human studies (dashed)
  • Still a hypothesis (dotted)
  1. 3D concept visualization of upper and lower molars meeting
    Station 1: Occlusion Concept visualization Link to the next station: established (solid line)
  2. Concept visualization of a tooth root, the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone in cross-section
    Station 2: Periodontal ligament Concept visualization · redrawn with AI tools Link to the next station: established (solid line)
  3. Concept visualization of the lower jaw and branches of the trigeminal nerve
    Station 3: Trigeminal nerve Concept visualization Link to the next station: established (solid line)
  4. Concept visualization of the brainstem
    Station 4: Brainstem Concept visualization Link to the next station: still a hypothesis (dotted line)
  5. Coronal 7T MRI slice showing the hippocampus
    Station 5: Hippocampus Real image · 7T MRI Link to the next station: not yet determined
  6. Concept visualization of the whole skeleton of a standing person
    Station 6: Whole body Concept visualization

In English

More English pages are in preparation. The Korean site has more pages; use the KO / EN switch at the top of any page.

Definition

What is Somatic Dentistry?

Somatic Dentistry is a perspective within dentistry that reads how sensation and movement in the teeth and mouth connect with the rest of the body, distinguishing connections established by anatomy, those observed in human studies and those that are still hypotheses.

Read the full definition

Anatomical journey

From occlusion to the brain,
six stations.

Each station has a name, a one-line note and its level of evidence. Established stretches and those still open to question are told apart on the same screen.

  1. 3D concept visualization of upper and lower molars meeting Concept visualization

    Station 01

    Occlusion

    How the upper and lower teeth come together

  2. Concept visualization of a tooth root, the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone in cross-section Concept visualization · redrawn with AI tools

    Station 02

    Periodontal ligament (PDL)

    Mechanoreceptors in the PDL around the root pick up the force placed on the tooth. Each tooth has several hundred of these receptors.

    Established
  3. Concept visualization of the lower jaw and branches of the trigeminal nerve Concept visualization

    Station 03

    Trigeminal nerve

    Periodontal signals travel through the alveolar nerves to the trigeminal ganglion, and these signals have also been recorded from the inferior alveolar nerve in people.

    Established
  4. Concept visualization of the brainstem Concept visualization

    Station 04

    Brainstem

    Signals enter the trigeminal sensory nuclei of the pons and medulla, and the brainstem’s chewing rhythm generator uses this information to choose the chewing movement.

    Established
  5. Coronal 7T MRI slice showing the hippocampus Real image · 7T MRI

    Station 05

    Hippocampus

    The idea that sensory input from the teeth is linked to memory and cognition.

    Still a hypothesis
  6. Concept visualization of the whole skeleton of a standing person Concept visualization

    Station 06

    Whole body

    • ⑤ Hippocampus → ⑥ Whole bodyNot yet determined
    • ① Occlusion → ⑥ Whole-body postureObserved in human studiesFindings are mixed

      The relationship between occlusion and body posture. Some studies have reported a relationship and others have not; where correlations are reported they are weak, and neither a predictable relationship nor causation has been confirmed.