Simple guidelines to increase parents' awareness:
evaluate if your own child has already acquired any type of bad habit, or has already developed an incipient dentofacial malocclusion that needs to be addressed
- Is your child often sick with acute laringitis, otitis, tonsillitis, or adenoiditis? - Does he/she breathe through his/her mouth during the day? - When he/she sleeps have you ever noticed if he/she breathes through his/her mouth? - Have you ever heard him/her snore while sleeping? -Does your child still use the pacifier or fall asleep sucking his/her own thumb?
-Does your child still drink milk from the bottle (over 3years of age) ? -Have you ever noticed if he/she has the habit of sucking his/her lower lip, as shown in the picture below? | You can be the one to monitor your own child
from the age of three!
Observe your child:
in any of the following situations we strongly suggest you take
a dental check up appointment before the age of five!
-Have you noticed if the mandible of your child is more external compared to the upper maxillary arch (inverted bite, as shown in these pictures)? ***** for the description of the terms DEEP BITE, CROSS BITE, OPEN BITE etc click here Med Terms | When your child smiles do you see any open space in the front (open bite, as shown in the picture below)? - Are the lower teeth more external to the upper teeth while he simply bites down (cross-bite, as shown in the picture above)? Is this only on one side or on both sides ( monolateral or bilateral crossbite) ?
- Have you noticed if your child often puts his/her tongue in between of the two dental arches, especially while swallowing (Tongue thrust )? - When your child smiles have you ever noticed if you can only see his/her upper teeth and not at all the lower-ones as the edge of the upper teeth is almost touching the inferior gums (deep bite, as shown in the picture above)? finally
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