Structure and movement, let’s not kill Chronos

Abstract

The myth of Chronos that devours his children is the allegorical expression of time that ends everything, but there is another reading: that time exists and allows us to understand the idea of a process, of evolution, both biologically and in any other aspect of life. The structure is the static, current, measurable morphological expression of everything that has a physical manifestation. Movement is the expression of life that is inexorably written on the structure and is responsible for its dynamism and change. We have developed the ability to analyse the structure in a systematic and detailed way, isolating it from time, and therefore depriving it of the movement that animates it, fixing the moment with static photographic images. With direct cephalometric techniques or on radiography we have defined points and reference systems, measured, compared, made proportions, and described the layout. Like the Art, the Morphological Sciences evolve from a two-dimensional vision to a three-dimensional one and we have given importance to empty spaces. But unlike art, we have difficulty internalizing and becoming aware of movement and the vital energy that animates it. Studying Movement means studying Form along Time. Structure and Function are two sides of the same coin, and our field is a clear example of this. We cannot work on occlusion without understanding the functions associated with the whole system: breathing, swallowing, chewing, are the main sources of stimuli responsible for the development of the Stomatognathic System, which has the movement as its main engine. In our clinical practice we are convinced that seeking an integration between Form and Function provides balance and health to the system and therefore delays the negative effects of Time, and coherently understanding the Form-Function-Time triad provides a broader understanding of development and balance of our system.