Certain oral habits such as sucking your finger, or sucking the pacifier or bottle for a long time may end up causing oral malformations in the child, such as crowding of teeth or changes in maxillary growth patterns.
The good news is that if the bad habit is abandoned between four and six years, these injuries can be reversed in a high percentage of cases, thanks to the joint treatment between the dentist-orthodontist and speech therapist. Today we will know how the speech therapist works in cases of orofacial malformations because of bad habits, and why it is so important to also put yourself in the hands of this professional.
The bad bucondental habits of the child and the associated problems
Although there are still people who do not give enough importance to the proper oral hygiene of the baby and the maintenance of healthy oral habits during their first months of life, the truth is that doing so could help prevent future problems.
Many bucondental malformations occur after the sucking of the finger, the pacifier and the bottle for a long time. This continuous suction causes malformations in teeth and palate, alterations in the jaw that causes malocclusion in the bite, and phonoarticulatory, respiratory and swallowing dysfunctions.
In Babies and more How does the bottle, breastfeeding and pacifier affect the oral health of childrenThat is why it is important to do a complete oral study when the child is six or seven years old, to assess whether any of these malformations has occurred, and if so, seek an immediate solution before the effects get worse.
What role does the speech therapist play in correcting these problems?
Faced with oral malformations in children, we are all clear that the dentist and orthodontist play a fundamental role. But beyond dental treatment What else can we do so that our son's orofacial anatomical changes are corrected as soon as possible?
In Babies and more Nine habits that can harm the oral health of the childFrom the CRL Clinic, Daniela Neves, speech therapist and expert in Myofunctional Therapy, explains the importance of taking our children to the speech therapist before this type of pictures, because it should be another of the professionals involved in the oral treatment of the child.
The speech therapist will perform an orofacial exploration with the objective of identifying all the altered patterns, in addition to finding out the origin of the imbalance:
"A joint treatment of both professionals will not only correct the dental position and eliminate dysfunctions, but also eliminate bad habits and re-educate and generalize new breathing, chewing, swallowing and speech patterns. All this is achieved through a speech therapy treatment called Myofunctional Therapy "- details Daniela Neves.
What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Daniela Neves explains that Myofunctional Therapy is based on a set of muscular and functional techniques that, through active or passive rehabilitation, allow the child achieve normalization of altered orofacial functions, either by long-term sucking of the finger, pacifier or bottle, or by bad postures or abnormal breathing patterns (the so-called mouth respirators).
In Babies and more What is atypical infant swallowing and why it is important to solve it in timeIn the Myofunctional Therapy, you work mostly manually, through massages and manipulation of the area to achieve greater mobility, sensitivity and re-education of bad habits. Are also made exercises that should be repeated at home with the help of parents, such as:
Breathing exercises to correct bad habits in mouth respirators
Lingual exercises to improve control, muscle tone and eliminate tensions
Hold buttons with lips to strengthen them
Hold a stick with the lips to tone the masseter muscles (on the cheeks)
Chewing with foods of different sizes
Water swallowing exercises ...
In short, if your child has orofacial alterations caused by a bad oral habit, it is important that you put yourself as soon as possible in the hands of specialized professionals. He joint work between dentist and speech therapist offers excellent results, always counting on the involvement of the parents and the awareness of the child.
Acknowledgments Daniela Neves, from the CRL Rehabilitation Center
