Thumb sucking is a natural reflex for children which gives them gratification.
Thumb sucking Affects Child’s Teeth?

After permanent teeth come in, sucking may cause problems with the proper growth of the mouth, alignment of the teeth and changes in the roof of the mouth.

The intensity of the sucking like they are passively or vigorously sucking, determines whether or not dental problems may result.

Children Stop thumb sucking?

Children usually stop sucking between 2-4 years.

Consult your dentist if you notice changes in your child’s primary teeth, or are concerned about your child’s habit.

What should be done for Stopping Thumb sucking?

• Encourage your child for not sucking.
• Focus on correcting the cause of the anxiety and provide comfort to your child.
• For an older child, ask him to stand in front of mirror and see himself. How he looks and tell what is bad for him.
• Your dentist can praise your child and explain what are the adverse effects of thumb sucking to him.

If these tips don’t work,break the habit by bandaging the thumb or putting a sock on the hand at night. You can apply asafoetida (hing) or band-aid.

Your dentist or pediatrician may prescribe a bitter medication to coat the thumb or the use of a mouth appliance.

Teach children the proper technique early to help encourage them to develop good oral health habits. Start with these simple steps to get kids off to a good start.

• Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle against the gums.
• Move the brush back and forth gently, in short strokes, over the fronts, backs, and tops of your teeth. Don’t scrub hard along the gum line you can irritate your gums.
• Don’t forget to brush (and floss) behind your top front teeth and behind the bottom front teeth. Use the top bristles of the brush to reach this area some toothbrushes have a slightly longer tip to make it easier to reach these spots.

How To Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Chances are, you’re using a bottle to feed your baby. Have you ever heard of “baby bottle tooth decay”, or “nursing bottle mouth”? It’s one of the common ways your baby can develop cavities, and it can be avoided.

Causes

Baby bottle tooth decay occurs when a child’s teeth are frequently exposed to sugary liquids for long periods of time, usually through extended nursing on milk (including breast milk), formula or juice at bedtime or naptime.

How To Avoid It

Never use a feeding bottle as a pacifier.

Try not to put your child to bed with a bottle. If you must, make sure it contains plain water instead of milk, juice or formula.

Don’t give a baby a pacifier that has been dipped in honey or sugar.

Caring For Your Baby’s Gums

After each feeding, gently brush your baby’s gums using water or a baby tooth and gum cleanser on a baby toothbrush that has soft bristles. Or, wipe your baby’s gums with a soft, damp washcloth or gauze pad.

Many people don’t know that you don’t have to wait until the first tooth appears to begin efforts to prevent tooth decay. Fact is, you need to start providing good oral care for your children right from birth, because from healthy gums come healthy teeth.

Pain in the teeth that results from a change in air pressure (as in flying or mountain climbing) .  Aerodontalgia affects some person who experience pain in the tooth during high altitude flight or during deep sea diving. At ground level the tooth is completely asymptomatic. In some cases the pain may not start readily during flight or during diving, instead it may occur few hours or days later .The condition may be related to  subclinical pulpitis. Sometimes similar problem may happen in an endodontically treated tooth with improper obturation of the canal. The entrapped air in an improperly obturated canal may expand during flight or driving due to alteration in atmospheric pressure. This applies pressure in periapical nerve bundle and produce pain.

Tongue thrust, also known as reverse swallow or deviate swallow, is a condition in which the tongue is pressed up against the teeth or between them while gulping. In many cases, this condition leads to the movement of the tongue incorrectly to the sides, instead of forward to the teeth. This improper positioning of the tongue can occur even as the tongue is at rest, and in this case, it will lie too far forward.

Types of Tongue Thrust

Tongue thrust is an orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD), having many different types.

• Improper closing of the lips, also known as anterior open bite.
• Anterior thrust refers to the case when the upper incisors are stuck out.
• Bilateral anterior open bite is the situation in which the children have a tongue that is larger than normal and when the bite is closed, the molars are the only teeth, which are in contact.

Mouth breathing, as the name suggests, is breathing through the mouth rather than the nose. In majority of the cases, mouth breathing represents an involuntary adaptation to an obstructed nasal airway, and mouth breathing is a requirement simply in order to get enough air. This can be due to an obstruction in the nose or even adenoids. Chronic mouth breathing in children may result in damaging effects to dental and facial growth. It may cause gingivitis of the front teeth, bad breath and even movement of the front teeth. Treatment generally involves removal of the obstruction or a habit breaking appliance fabricated by the dentist.