Can your oral habits cause a disruption of developing teeth?

Children usually have various oral habits but little did we know about the various effects it creates on the developing teeth. This is due to the unwanted pressure exerted by your habits on the teeth that are developing.

Lets get into details about the various habits and its effects

1.THUMB SUCKING

Thumb sucking is considered to be normal only up to a certain age of 2 to 3 years. There are 4 main classifications of these habits itself

Type A: Thumb inserted beyond the first joint of the thumb. The lower front tooth is pressed by your thumb.

Type B: Thumb inserted beyond the first joint and presses against the lower tooth

Type C: Full thumb is inserted without conbtact on the lower tooth

Type D: Thumb doesn't insert much into the tooth but presses against the lower tooth

Classification of thumb sucking habits and its prevalence

Effects of thumb sucking :

# Narrowing of upper arch

# Forward placement of upper tooth

# Opening of the bite anteriorly

# Cross bite posteriorly

Effects caused due to inadvertent pressure due to prolonged thumb sucking
Cross bite posteriorly

How to control your child's habit:

A. Dunlop's hypothesis:

This involves allowing the child to sit in front of the mirror and allowing the child to repeat the habit so they consciously learn to associate the act with unpleasant feelings and eventually stop the habit

B. Using thumb guards

C.Using non toxic bitter tasting neem oils so that they stop the habit

D. Consult a dentist to provide with an optimal diagnosis and prevent these problems from arising.

2.TONGUE THRUSTING

It is a habit where tongue is pushed between the teeth or tongue is pushed through the space in between the teeth.

they can be of two types again

A. Anterior tongue thrusting

B. Lateral tongue thrusting

Tongue is pushed in the gap between the front tooth causing forward placement of upper front tooth
Tongue pushed laterally

Effects of tongue thrusting

# Opening of the bite anteriorly

# Cross bite posteriorly

#Spacing between the front tooth in the lower arch

# Forward movement of upper front tooth

How to control your child's habit:

A. Consult with your dentist to know and prevent the potential risks of this habit

B. Usage of tongue crib- An appliance with vertical projections in the front region to prevent the forward placement of your tongue

Tongue cribs for habit breaking

3.NAIL BITING:

It can cause chipping off or wearing of the upper surface of your teeth. It can cause sensitivity of your tooth.

Chipping of tooth due to nail biting habit

How to avoid:

A. Trimmed nails that are prim and proper to avoid the habit.

B. Incase of sensitivity, consult a dentist and swith to fluoride toothpaste to avoid that.

4.MOUTHBREATHING

Breathing through mouth can be either anatomical or physiological. Anatomical mouth breathing can be due to enlarged tonsils or nasal obstruction, and physiolgical maybe due to habitual breathing

Effects of mouth breathing

#Drying of mouth

# Increased decay of teeth especially near the collars of the teeth ue to drying of teeth

# Narrowing of the upper arch due to the position of the tongue. Tongue usually lies in a depressed position due to mouth breathing which results in an unopposed action on the upper arch causing narrowing

Decay due to mouth breathing

What can be done?

A. Consult a doctor to find out the cause of mouth breathing and resolve it.

It becomes imperative for all of us to provide proper care for our oral health as well. And like it always is preventing any problem is much better than finding a cure for a problem that has occured. It is always much better to do preservation rather than treatment.....