Kids Dentistry
Some childhood habits are completely harmless and fade on their own. Others, if they continue past a certain age or with enough intensity, can affect how the teeth and jaws develop.
At Azari & Zahedi Dentistry we watch for these habits at every routine visit and, when intervention is needed, we have a thoughtful, child-friendly toolkit for it: starting with parent guidance and at-home strategies, and ending with custom appliances when other approaches have not worked.
It is important to intercept and discourage harmful dental habits that may affect your child’s growth potential.
Children who continue to suck thumbs or pacifiers after the age of five are at high risk for developing dental complications. A grinding habit can shorten and blunt the teeth, which can lead to headaches, muscle pain, and stunted jaw growth.
Regularly scheduled dental visits allow us to teach effective oral hygiene and monitor jaw and mouth development for the best outcomes.
Habit 1
Thumb sucking is a normal, self-soothing reflex in infants and young children. Most children give up the habit on their own between ages 2 and 4. There is generally no need to worry until the front permanent teeth start erupting, around age 5 or 6. At that point, prolonged thumb sucking can begin to affect bite and tooth position.
If your child is still actively thumb sucking past age 4, it is worth bringing it up at their routine visit. Often the right answer is wait and watch. Sometimes, gentle parental guidance is enough. And occasionally, when the habit is intense and persistent, a custom appliance is the right call.
Prolonged thumb and finger sucking in children can cause malocclusion (an improper bite). The vast majority of children can break the habit naturally or through positive parental guidance and at-home modalities. If it continues beyond toddlerhood, parents may get worried and want to know, “How do I stop my child’s thumb sucking?”
The good news is that we have a solution. The habit-breaking appliance is the last resort for children who have difficulty stopping the habit when all else fails.
At Azari & Zahedi Dentistry, we have designed our own variation of the bluegrass appliance that can be advantageous even for the most challenging cases.
Habit 2
Lip sucking is a less-common cousin of thumb sucking. The child habitually tucks the lower lip behind the upper front teeth and sucks on it, often in moments of concentration or stress. Many children do not realize they are doing it.
Lip sucking is another habit in children that can cause increased overjet by protruding upper front teeth and pushing back lower front teeth. It also makes the lower lip irritated, itchy, and dry.
Sometimes the lip is trapped between the upper and lower teeth, and we have to intervene.
A lip bumper can help your child in the following ways:
Habit 3
Bruxism, or the grinding of teeth, is remarkably common in children and adults. For some children, this tooth grinding is limited to daytime hours, but nighttime grinding (during sleep) is most prevalent. Bruxism can lead to a wide range of dental problems, depending on the frequency of the behavior and the underlying causes and intensity of the grinding.
A wide range of psychological, physiological, and physical factors may lead children to brux. In particular, jaw misalignment (bad bite), stress, and traumatic brain injury are all thought to contribute to bruxism, although grinding can also occur as a side effect of certain medications.
Many children grind their teeth occasionally and grow out of it without intervention. Mention any persistent grinding at your child’s routine visit so we can examine the bite, check for wear, and decide together whether it is time to act. In some cases the right answer is to address the trigger, such as a stressful school year or a recent change at home. In others, we may recommend a bite splint or nightguard: a protective acrylic appliance worn at night to absorb the grinding force and protect the teeth. Bite splints are also discussed on our Sleep Apnea & TMJ page in an adult context.
Pacifier use is a close cousin of thumb sucking. The same general guidance applies: it is developmentally normal in infants and toddlers, and most children give up the pacifier on their own. Prolonged pacifier use past age 4 to 5 can cause similar bite issues to thumb sucking. Your routine pediatric visits are the right place to ask when and how to wean.
Part of every pediatric exam at Azari & Zahedi Dentistry is a check for habit-related changes: the shape of the upper arch, the angle of the front teeth, signs of grinding wear, and the position of the lower lip. If we see something that warrants attention, we will bring it up with you and lay out the options, usually starting with parent-led approaches and reserving appliances for when they are truly needed.
Bring it up at your child’s next visit, or call us at 904-992-8900 to schedule one. We will examine, listen, and lay out the options together.
