How Habit Appliances Make Your Oral Health Life Easy

Habit appliances are aimed at helping kids overcome or stop common behavioral activities. They are sometimes also referred to as habit-breaking appliances or crib appliances. These activities include thumb sucking that prolongs after the kid has advanced in age. Other behaviors include thumb thrusting and lip sucking. These appliances are mostly metallic and immovable within the mouth. Some of the applications of habit appliances are IN:

1. Tongue Thrusting

Tongue thrusting is also called reverse or immature swallow. Normally, the tongue’s position while swallowing is at the tip of the tongue, pressing against the upper gum. However, in this habit, the person swallowing pushes the teeth between the upper and lower teeth. This can happen while talking, swallowing, or while the tongue is at rest.

Humans swallow approximately1200- 2000 times in a day. The force produced by each swallow is about 1-6 pounds. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. When this habit is unchecked, the continued pushing of the tongue against the teeth causes them to move from their natural position and disorient their arrangement.

One common observed effect is an open bite where the back teeth fit into each other while biting, but the front teeth do not. As a result, the mouth appears to have bulged on the outside.

One of the methods used to treat the habit includes the use of nightguards. These appliances work to make the habit uncomfortable for the child or adult. Orthodontic treatment near you can also solve the problem by applying orofacial myofunctional therapy that can help change the swallowing pattern while retaining the muscles associated with swallowing.

If you have faced this challenge or observed your kid developing this habit, Dr. Brown is your go-to place. Get the best consultation and solutions from Habit Appliances in Martinsville, VA

2. Thumb Sucking

Thumb sucking is the habit of putting the thumb and sucking it. The behavior is more prevalent in children as they use it to comfort themselves or relieve stress. However, prolonged thumb sucking has various effects on the development of teeth in a child. Open bite and overbites even when the mouth is fully closed is one such effect.

The results of thumb sucking can also manifest in the child’s inability to correctly develop speech for consonant sounds like D and T. This will cause difficulty in the child’s communication ability. The effects caused by this behavior in terms of speech formation may be irreversible. In addition, the ridicule from the surrounding community can also affect the child’s esteem.

The need to stop thumb sucking thus cannot be understated. Our pediatric dental office in Martinsville is just the right place to visit when you are faced with these predicaments. We offer tailor-made services for your children to develop the right best dental arrangement and stop the habit.

3. Lip Sucking

Lip sucking is the act of licking one’s lips. Most of the time, people, especially kids, suck their lips for various reasons. There are periods when the lips may crack due to a lack of moisture. The child may therefore end up licking their lips even after they recover from the episode.

Another cause of lip sucking is stress, fear, and anxiety that may result from various situations. The person may suck their lips to relieve tension off themselves.

Overbites are also a cause for continued lip sucking. The misalignment of teeth results in the constant contact of the lips with the lower lip causes the continued moisturizing of the lower lip. The effects of this behavior include chapped lips.

The constant use of saliva to moisturize the lips is ineffective as the saliva evaporates at a high rate leaving it drier than before. The result is irritated lips that may be swollen.

The effects to the teeth of this habit include an asymmetric jaw and an occlusion. Some of the solutions to the habit include the use of the habit appliance. For instance, the lip bumper is a method tested and proven to stop the habit in conjunction with fixed orthodontal mechanotherapy.

If you need an orthodontic dentist, Kids First Dental is the best, offering consultations from well-trained personnel and treatment.