» Changing Your Child's Facial Appearance
» Thumb Sucking and Pacifier Habits
Learn How To Care For Your Teeth
Changing Your Child’s Facial Appearance Within certain biological limits a child’s face can be molded to make a more pleasing appearance. Narrow jaws with crowded teeth can be made wider giving the teeth more room and the child a wider smile. Short lower jaws can be made longer giving the child better facial balance with less protrusion of the upper teeth. Short upper jaws can be made more protrusive early in life to reduce the underbite and improve the facial appearance. Protruded teeth can be retracted. Over erupted teeth can be intruded. All this adds up to a great potential for facial modifications early in life. This is called facial orthopedics and is a wonderful new and rapidly developing technology that we offer here at Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas. Let us advise you on using these techniques on your child if needed. It could help prevent the need for costly and traumatic facial surgeries later in life for those children with faces that are not growing optimally. This is one of our best services.
Thumb Sucking and Pacifier Habits
These are bad habits that shape the jaw bones. They make the upper jaw narrow and the teeth crowded. They retard normal growth of the lower jaw. They protrude the bone and teeth of the upper jaw. They should be stopped as soon as possible. But how can you do it? Here are some tips on how to do it.
Throw the pacifier away and be ready to stay up all night a few nights to comfort your child. It will pay off for the future.
Let the dentist tell the child to stop sucking the thumb. This works over half the time.
Ignore the habit by walking away when the child does it. Reward the child with love and attention when there is no thumb sucking. Never reward the habit by constantly drawing attention to child for doing it.
Get rid of blankets and other objects which initiate the habit.
Taping a sock over the hand at night might help. Hot sauce and other things might work but usually not.
We can make intraoral appliances that prevent the thumb sucking.
