Eliminate Oral Habits

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During the first years of life, sucking is a natural instinctive behavior. After the first year, sucking becomes less of an instinctive need and more of a habit. Toddlers and children may suck a thumb, finger, blanket, pacifier or even their lower lip. Unfortunately, many children do not outgrow this habit during the toddler years and and eventually develop an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder (OMD) as a result.

Prolonged oral habits negatively influence the ability for the hard and soft tissues of your mouth to develop optimally. Extended use of pacifiers, thumb or finger sucking, lip sucking, and even nail biting can disrupt proper growth of the jaws and the ability to withstand proper nasal breathing.

Most thumb, finger or pacifier users have an anterior open bite and a tongue thrust (reverse swallow). When the digit or pacifier is between the teeth and on top of the tongue, the teeth cannot fully erupt into a normal position and the tongue is pushed down into an unnatural low and forward resting posture pressing against the teeth. 

Thumb or finger sucking is also a noxious oral habit that can cause a disruption in developing a proper swallowing pattern. To swallow properly, your tongue must have full contact with your palate. On average, you swallow up to 1000 times per day. If a child is swallowing for hours each day, with something in their mouth that is blocking their tongue from achieving proper lingual/palatal positioning, it will cause a reverse swallow/tongue thrust. Research is also showing a possible connection between digit sucking and airway issues, as your tongue also requires palatal contact to optimize nasal breathing patterns. Improper swallowing can also lead to crooked teeth, underdeveloped jaws, digestive issues and speech/articulation issues to name a few. Myofunctional therapy helps retrain the tongue and facial muscles, we will help to eliminate this noxious habit and influence proper oral patterns and function.

A Myofunctional Therapist can offer a Thumb/Pacifier Elimination Program for children ages 4 and up who cannot stop the habit on their own. This process should be fun and rewarding, not stressful and difficult! At Myofunctional Spot, I team up with the child and parent to help them learn positive ways to eliminate the habit. Most children quit completely within 10 days of starting the program!

Long-term Pacifier Use

Pacifiers and their existence are always a hot topic of discussion among parents, mommy groups and providers and will be for years to come. As a Speech Pathologist and Lactation Consultant, I have seen first hand how long term pacifier use can impact speech, feeding and swallowing. Research shows prolonged pacifier habits can alter oral growth and development. Much like thumb sucking, an open bite can develop along with abnormal eruption patterns of the teeth, and dysfunctional swallow patterns. Pacifier habits can encourage a low tongue resting posture that, as mentioned above, is not ideal for jaw and teeth development. It is normal for babies to seek the need of the thumb or even another option, the pacifier, in infancy. In an ideal situation, if a pacifier is used, it should be discontinued by 6 months of age.

If you would like help eliminating an oral habit, contact me for more info.