To bite, or not to bite . . .

I was driving home yesterday, and thinking about the dentist.  Not really my favorite topic.  I actually hate going to the dentist more than getting blood drawn (which is also not very fun, but at least it doesn't last 30 minutes).   I was projecting what may happen at my next dentist visit, which, quite likely, might go like this:

Hygienist: "It looks like you have a cavity, or two, or three."

Me: "How is this possible?!?!"

Hygienist: "Do you brush your teeth?"

Me: "Of course, twice a day."

Hygienist: "Do you floss?"

Me: "Yes, religiously."

Hygienist: "Do you drink soda?  What about chewing gum?"

Me: "Never."

Hygienist: "You must be lying.  I know you're lying.  Let me ask you the same questions again until you give me the answer I want to hear."

Me: "No, I promise I'm not lying!! "

Sigh . . . hopefully it won't be like that, though I've had many a conversation in the past that comes dangerously close to that!  Anyway, in thinking about cavities and the (unfortunately) inevitable conclusion that I will have to get another filling in the near future, I suddenly had a thought about how they adjust your bite after having a filling.  How they have you grind on the colored paper, so they can see where the contact is between the teeth, and how they ask you which side of your teeth meet first as you slowly bite down.

But really, when you think about it, our bite is yet another movement of bones that is controlled and influenced by muscles and other soft tissue surrounding the jaw.  Couldn't it be the case that my bite changes and adjusts according to how I am using the muscles of the jaw and neck?  And that if one side of my bite closes before the other, this could potentially be a result of soft tissue rather than tooth height?  To approach this from the opposite direction, couldn't it be that by drilling down the teeth to create a better bite, we are adjusting our structure to what the soft tissue is doing, rather than working on adjusting our soft tissue to our body's structure? 

Of course, with a filling there is necessary reshaping that has to happen. But it is definitely some food for thought.  Now I'm off to floss my teeth.