Alexander Spesivtsev, orthodontist Hello everyone. It often happens that bad habits in children, characteristic of infancy and younger age, remain with them until the beginning of school and beyond. Naturally, it is very strange for everyone around to look at a first-grader child who still holds foreign objects in his mouth... In our and many other cases, it is the “FINGER”, which simply “remarkably” forms an open bite in children.
Finger in mouth causes open bite
Such things are not uncommon and blaming parents is not always correct. The reasons for such a habit as thumb sucking are multifaceted:
- unsatisfactory sucking reflex,
- teething,
- at an older age, this is a neurological disorder; the child expresses his feelings in this way...
But by the age of 7, it becomes less important to us where and why, but how to
effectively get rid of this habit?
Because, as we see, such habits lead to disorders of bite, speech function, chewing (biting), and the aesthetics of appearance are also not up to par. For clarity, we show the case of one girl who did not give up for a long time and stubbornly and did not want to give up her “wonderful” habit! And as a result, the child has an open bite.
Why is this habit bad?
It is enough to list just a few important consequences. With constant sucking of a pacifier, the muscles of the oral cavity develop unevenly, not as nature intended for them. The orbicularis oris muscle turns out to be “overdeveloped” and is constantly in hypertonicity. Other muscles, on the contrary, remain underdeveloped.
Children who have a reverse infantile tongue-thrusting type of swallowing (the tongue is between the front teeth) always suffer from an open bite, in which the front teeth do not close together. The dentition becomes deformed, the position changes and the teeth become separated.
In children who suck a pacifier or thumb over the age of 1 year, very often a vertical gap forms between their front teeth or, alternatively, the upper front teeth lean forward strongly. All this affects not only the appearance of the child, but also his health.
This is what an open bite looked like in a child aged 7
Her first year was the most unstable and difficult. Since the girl did not want to get rid of the habit and the medicinal mouthguard ended up on the pillow at night in every possible way.
A year of treatment for the girl’s bite has passed, let’s see the results
But one fine day, thanks to daily work, we defeated the BIG PHALANX
The final result of open bite treatment. Photo at 11 years old
The child puts everything in his mouth: what to do?
The sucking reflex in children develops in the womb. If you're lucky, mom and dad may see a baby with a finger in its mouth during an ultrasound scan late in pregnancy. In the first months of life, the baby puts his fingers or fist into his mouth to satisfy his sucking instincts. This is especially true for bottle-fed children. There may be large holes in the nipple; the baby quickly eats the food offered, but the need for sucking remains unsatisfied.
Small breastfed babies often cry and demand the breast not out of hunger, they just want tactile sensations, for their mother to be nearby, to feel her smell. If mother does not come, babies suck their fingers, the tip of a blanket, or part of a soft toy. In this case, you can offer your baby a pacifier. The harm from it is clearly exaggerated. When buying a pacifier, you should choose modern products made from high-quality material and accurately repeating the shape of the nipple.
Why does a child put his hands in his mouth after 5-6 months? Typically, older children suck their fists when they feel hungry. Another reason is the manifestation of psychological discomfort that occurs when:
- the baby does not see his mother;
- he was put in another place;
- left alone in the room;
- heard unfamiliar sounds;
- picked up by a stranger;
- Loud music started playing and more.
Even if a baby hears sudden loud noises from a neighboring apartment, this can cause stress. Screams, loud laughter, and the roar of a fallen thing are very frightening.
When teeth are being cut, swollen gums torment the baby, and not only hands can end up in the mouth. It is useless to fight the licking of all toys during this period, so try to choose special gel teething rings for the baby. They are made in the form of interesting figures and provide an analgesic effect. Anti-inflammatory gels for lubricating the gums also help.
Advice from a child psychologist
On women's forums, many mothers and grandmothers complain that the child constantly puts his fingers in his mouth, but they cannot accept the fact that the child feels psychological discomfort or lack of attention. Even a beloved and long-awaited baby tolerates the TV turned on, the mother’s conversations on the phone, and the joyful chirping of a visiting grandmother in different ways. Everything new can simply frighten him; in order to calm down, the child puts his hands in his mouth. There is no need to be afraid, this is a protective reaction of the body. If a baby under 1 year of age performs such actions, there is nothing to worry about.
Time will pass and this habit will gradually disappear. If your baby sucks his thumb when falling asleep, try holding his hand and stroking his fingers and palm while telling him a bedtime story. You will distract your son or daughter from a bad habit and show them love. You can buy a sleep toy that you need to hug.
Thumb sucking by children over three years of age, combined with fingering, pulling out hair or eyelashes, should be alarming. Sometimes thumb sucking turns into nail biting, a stereotype is formed and a negative habit arises. Such children need the help of specialists. Under no circumstances should parents:
- scold the baby;
- raise your voice and scare him;
- hit on the hands or fingers;
- smear your fingers with aloe or mustard;
- tie the arms to the body (if such an idea arises in the head of a mother, father or grandmother, then it is not the child who needs to be taken to the doctor, but an adult).
Specialists from the Insight psychological support center will help you cope with bad habits. Our employees will find out why the child puts his fingers in his mouth and how to deal with this phenomenon in a specific situation. Here you can attend trainings for parents and individual consultations. There are children's art therapy groups. If you want to raise a confident, healthy person, call us!
What is the treatment for bite treatment?
To put it “scientifically”, what we see is nothing more than an “ open bite
” - one of the most severe malocclusion pathologies in the practice of orthodontists. And this example shows well the effectiveness of solving and treating open bite pathology in children. Most often, in such cases, wearing an ELASTOPOSITIONER is prescribed - an orthodontic mouthguard for children made of medical silicone. The wearing mode for the treatment of an open bite is HOME - this is when a child, both day and night, while at home, must hold such a mouthguard in his mouth, clamping it with his teeth. Knowing the cause of such an overbite and eliminating it, we clearly show how the correction occurs. And all the above violations correct themselves!
Aesthetics and Function - these are the two most important parameters!
Now the girl is 11 years old. And so far we do not see the need for any additional treatment!!! So, the period for occlusion correction is 3 years and 1 year of passive monitoring of stability. Are you ready for this treatment for your child? Then don't wait for braces, contact us! Health to everyone, Yours Alexander Spesivtsev
Articles by Alexander Spesivtsev on the website
- A bitter experience with braces or a story about how aligners helped improve the situation
- Wisdom teeth: remove or treat?
- Protrusion of teeth. Treatment of bite protrusion with aligners
At what age should we wean
It is very important to break the habit of sucking a pacifier or thumb at an early age, before changing baby teeth to permanent ones. The fact is that if at 3-4 years of age you free a child with an open bite from attachment to a pacifier, then with the help of orthodontic trainers you can quite quickly ensure normal pressure in the oral cavity, balance muscle development and thereby return the dentition to its normal position. And then, when permanent teeth erupt (this happens at about 6-7 years), malocclusion will no longer occur. Otherwise, more serious correction and orthodontic treatment may be needed.
Normally, weaning off the pacifier should be done at about one year of age. At this time, the baby’s first teeth are already beginning to erupt, and it is very important to prevent the formation of bite pathologies caused precisely by long hours of sucking a pacifier. Therefore, both pediatricians and orthodontists are unanimous on this issue: until the teeth have erupted, you can sometimes give the baby a pacifier to calm him down; as soon as the first teeth begin to appear (this happens at 7-8 months), it is better to remove the pacifier.
Why is thumb sucking dangerous in children?
Bad habits in early childhood interfere with the normal development of the baby. Thumb sucking is a prime example of this. Here's what happens if it drags on [5]:
- Delayed development of the adult swallowing pattern due to abnormal lip tone and the habit of holding the tongue between the front teeth.
- Deformation of teeth and the appearance of gaps between them.
- Formation of an open bite . The jaws stop closing completely, the child’s mouth is constantly open.
- Poor posture due to constant tilting of the head forward.
- Mouth breathing, leading to deformation of the upper palate, frequent diseases of the upper respiratory tract, and cerebral hypoxia.
- Familiar tongue movements for sucking during speech. They lead to incorrect pronunciation of individual sounds and inhibition of speech development.
- Increased load on chewing teeth due to impaired function of the front teeth. Leads to dysfunction of the temporomandibular joints .
By the time baby teeth begin to be replaced by permanent teeth, the child must wean himself from keeping his finger in his mouth.
How to wean a child off a pacifier
To wean, try a simple step: cut the pacifier so that your baby can feel it in his mouth, but cannot suck on it. Psychologically, this does not traumatize the baby, and such a pacifier does not spoil the bite, and the baby will very quickly refuse the “wrong” pacifier.
If this does not help, you can try replacing the pacifier with an orthodontic device. It is similar in shape, and the baby can accept such a replacement, but when wearing such an apparatus, the dentofacial apparatus and muscles will form correctly, and in the future the baby will not have problems with bite.
If weaning does not occur before the age of 3, it is better to carry it out together with a child psychologist so as not to traumatize the child’s psyche.
The article is located in the sections: OSTEOPATHY FOR EVERYONE
How to prevent the formation of bite pathologies
Ideally, already at the age of about a year, when the child’s first teeth erupt, it is important to prevent the formation of bite pathologies, which are caused by prolonged thumb sucking. Pediatricians and orthodontists are unanimous in the opinion that in order to implement the sucking reflex, a child can sometimes be given a pacifier to calm him down so that he does not switch to thumb sucking. But this can be done for up to 7-8 months. As soon as the first teeth begin to appear, it is better to remove pacifiers and distract from the bad habit of thumb sucking.
If we are talking about a small child, then prohibitions (and even more so punishments!) in this case are meaningless. But you can praise your baby for not sucking his thumb. You can come up with some kind of reward system for your child and reward him every time he overcomes a bad habit. A child psychologist will help determine the cause of obsessive thumb sucking and methods of combating this habit. It is especially important to consult with him if weaning did not occur before 3 years of age.
And of course, it is very important to show the child to the orthodontist regularly in order to notice bite pathology in the early stages and not waste time.
The article is located in the sections: Speech Therapy and Defectology
Why does a child suck his thumb?
In satisfying the sucking reflex, three large nerves located in the mouth are involved: the vagus, trigeminal and nasopharyngeal [3]. For this reason, the sucking process gives the child pleasure.
A child may suck a finger if he feels hungry, lacks warmth and affection, or wants to calm down. The baby thus directly signals to the mother that he needs more time to satisfy the sucking reflex. In this case, with natural feeding, it is necessary to keep it at the breast longer, and with artificial feeding, choose a nipple from which it is difficult to quickly suck the required portion of nutrition. It is also acceptable to use pacifiers if parents are sure that the baby is full. Weaning off a pacifier should be gradual so as not to create a stressful situation for the child.
During the teething period , with discomfort in the gums, children suck, chew and bite everything, including their own fingers as the most accessible and understandable object.
The habit of sucking or chewing something in a child may be associated with increased anxiety and stress.
Therefore, first of all, parents need to find out the cause of the child’s nervous tension and eliminate it “Psychological causes of bad habits in children” Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of the Russian State Medical University named after. Pavlova, orthodontist of the highest qualification category, member of the Dental Association of Russia, member of the professional society of orthodontists Arkharova O. N. [4]
After 4 years of age, the child has no objective reasons for thumb sucking, and this habit becomes harmful [4]
