What Are the Negative Habits That Affect the Tooth Structure of Children?

Bad and harmful oral habits can be listed as follows;

• Finger sucking
• Tongue suction
• Swallowing irregularities, tongue overflow
• Tongue pushing or insertion of the tongue between the teeth
• Baby bottles
• Fake pacifiers
• Lip sucking and biting
• Cheek biting
• Clenching or grinding of teeth
• Mouth breathing
• Nail biting
• Speech disorders

1- Finger Sucking

Among the bad habits, the most common condition is finger sucking. Finger sucking is considered normal until the age of 3-4 years. If it continues after this age, it leads to displacement of the lower and upper teeth, closing disorder and disorders in the alignment of the teeth. Movable apparatus can be used to prevent finger sucking, and gloves can be used in younger children.

2- Dil Emme

Tongue sucking is similar to the habit of thumb sucking. The child is the form of sucking the tip of the tongue based on the inner part of the upper incisors. It pushes the anterior region of the palate forward, this movement leads to the front open closure. As a treatment, tongue retaining movable plates can be used.

3- Swallowing Irregularities

In order to prevent abnormal swallowing, it is necessary to eliminate the finger sucking that causes it, the use of non-physiological bottles and false pacifiers for a long time and respiratory problems. Swallowing disorders should be treated between the ages of 3.5-4.5 years. First of all, normal swallowing and tongue exercises may be recommended. If it cannot be prevented with these exercises, dental appliances and tongue holders can be used.

4- Tongue Pushing or Inserting the Tongue Between the Teeth

This habit is acquired by touching and inserting the tongue into the gaps that begin with the loss of milk teeth in children and remain over time. As a result, an open closure occurs. If the tongue does not turn back when the incisors erupt, an opening will occur between the front teeth. As a treatment, tongue and placeholders are used. It is useful in exercises.

5- Baby Bottles

When the baby is born, his lower jaw is slightly behind, while the mother receives milk she works her tongue, lower jaw muscles and muscles around the mouth. With the work of these muscles, the lower jaw is provided to move forward. When the bottle is passed, the bottle should be in a way to mimic the mother’s breast. Suitable bottle should be made of hard rubber, with a short tip, the nipple tip should be 4-5 mm, the hole through which the milk will pass should be placed in a narrow and wide bottle mouth. If long-ended, soft-rubberized, wide-bore bottles with narrow bottle openings are used; The child cannot perform the sucking function, the muscles that will develop with sucking cannot develop, problems such as deep palate formation, breathing through the mouth, jaw stenosis, breathing disorders will be encountered.

6- Fake Pacifiers

The pacifier can be used up to a certain age, but it will instinctively become a habit. It should be left until the age of 3.5-4 at the latest. When continued use, it causes abnormal deepening of the lip, tipping of the upper incisors towards the lip, and open bite in the teeth in the anterior region.

7- Lip Sucking and Biting

In the habit of sucking or biting the upper lip, the upper teeth tip to the palate, and when the lower lip is sucked, the lower teeth tip over to the tongue side. As a result, a closing disorder called overjet occurs. In other words, the lower front teeth are ahead of the upper front teeth or the upper teeth are further back than the lower teeth. As a treatment, lip buffers, plaques that prevent the tongue or lips from being inserted between the teeth can be used.

8- Cheek Biting

When biting the cheek, the teeth begin to be buried vertically. Oral screens can be used as treatment.

9- Clenching or Grinding of Teeth (Bruxism)

Unconscious teeth clenching and grinding, known as bruxism, causes a lot of damage to the teeth. As psychological reasons can be counted among the reasons, high filling, coating, or early contact of the teeth is due to the fact that people want to erode them unconsciously. Teeth grinding and clenching will lead to abrasions in the teeth and decreases in tooth length over time, causing displacement in the teeth. Apart from this, it causes loosening of teeth, bone loss, pain in jaw joints, head and neck pain. One of the most important causes of crookedness in the incisors seen in adults is teeth clenching and grinding. Nocturnal plaques can be used as treatment. If orthodontic treatment is expected to be successful, this habit should be completely eliminated.

10- Oral Breathing

Breathing through the mouth; If oral breathing continues after long-term nasal inflammation, upper respiratory tract problems, nostrils are too small, chronic tonsil surgery is eliminated, orthodontic measures should be taken. Changes in intraoral pressure in oral breathing, jaw stenosis, lateral cross closure, deepening of the palate, skeletal disorders and open closing of the teeth may occur.

11- Nail Biting

The habit of eating nails, which usually occurs in childhood and adolescence, is seen in one of every 3 children. Although there are psychological reasons underlying the habit of eating nails, this habit leads to orthodontic disorder in the teeth. These disorders include crookedness in the teeth, abrasion in the incisors, rotation of the teeth. Nail biting for a long time also reduces the sharpness of the teeth. As a treatment, apart from solving the psychological cause by going to the root of this habit, cutting the nails short, nail polish, plaques that increase the closure of the teeth, directing the person to other activities that will distract the person will prevent this habit.

12- Speech Disorders

Speech disorders due to improper speech, the wrong force is applied to the tongue, teeth and tooth socket, internal and external muscles work unbalanced. Speech disorders cause orthodontic problems, and on the contrary, people with orthodontic disorders begin to have deterioration in their speech later. As a treatment, language and muscle therapies are beneficial.