Three Issues That Affect Oral Health.

Sucking Habits
Although sucking is a natural reflex, sucking fingers, thumbs and pacifiers beyond tooth eruption will cause tooth misalignment. Infants and young children may suck on thumbs, fingers, pacifiers which makes them feel safe and happy. It provides a sense of security during difficult periods. It is also relaxing and may induce sleep

Thumb and finger sucking that persists beyond the eruption of the permanent teeth can cause problems with tooth alignment and the proper growth of the mouth. The frequency, duration, and intensity of a habit will determine whether or not dental problems may result. Usually, 80% of children with thumb or finger habits stop by the time permanent teeth erupt. However, for a lot of kiddos, it is a hard habit to break. Here are some tips to help your child get through the sucking withdrawal:


• Instead of scolding children for thumb sucking, praise them when they are not.
• Children often suck when feeling insecure. Focus on correcting the cause of anxiety, instead of the sucking.
• Children who are sucking for comfort will feel less of a need when their parents provide comfort in other ways.
• Reward children when they refrain from sucking during difficult periods, such as when being separated from their parents.

Malocclusion
Malocclusion, also known as a bad bite, is a condition in which the teeth are crowded, crooked or out of alignment, or the jaws don’t meet properly. This condition may become particularly noticeable between the ages of six and 12, when the permanent teeth are erupting. This “bad bite” may be inherited or result from events in the child’s development.
Every child should receive an orthodontic evaluation by age seven. Early examination and treatment may help prevent or reduce the severity of malocclusions in the permanent teeth. An early evaluation allows the orthodontist to determine when any recommended treatment should begin. The developing occlusion should be monitored throughout eruption. Starting treatment or preventative care at the best time may reduce the overall treatment time and result in the best outcome.

Dr. Dunne will work with your orthodontist to try and prevent the development of malocclusions, when possible. Some preventative orthodontic treatment may be started when the primary teeth are still in place. Often effective preventative treatment is done during a child’s growth period. Different types of orthodontic appliances, including some that are removable, are used to prevent and treat malocclusions.

Obstructive Airways and Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Airways and Sleep Apnea
Our ability to breathe directly affects our health and well-being. Our ability to fight infection is directly influenced by our ability to clean bad cells out of our bodies and provide oxygen to our living cells. The lymph system is the body’s way of removing old, bad cells. Since there is no pump for the lymph system, our bodies must use breathing and muscle movement to clean up our body’s old, dead cells.

An interesting study was done to see the effect of oxygen on cells and it was found that cells that were given oxygen, after 1 year, were normal and cells that were deprived of oxygen had malignant growths after that year. It is a known fact that oxygen affects the quality of life of the body’s cells. Fully oxygenating your system is a top priority. Presently, one in 3 Americans gets cancer, however, only one in 21 athletes gets cancer. Athletes oxygenate better than the average person and athletes stimulate their bodies’ immune system by stimulating the movement of lymph fluid. So we can see that good breathing and exercise are crucial to health and to life.

Obstructive airways and sleep apnea deprive our bodies of oxygen and have significant effects. If the airway is obstructed, it changes the posture of the mouth and face and affects the growth of bone. If a child has difficulty breathing at night, it can cause life-altering changes. Poor and restless sleep, or sleep deprivation, leads to daytime tiredness and sleepiness. There is an overall decrease in oxygen levels to the body of 10-15%. This deprivation affects IQ and school performance. It inhibits effects on growth– resulting in obesity, hypertension, and sometimes right ventricular dysfunction and heart enlargement. A child is so tired that he may not awaken to go to the bathroom and frequently wets the bed. Mouth-breathing causes the mouth to be dry and the child develops halitosis. It can also cause bruxism or grinding of teeth in their sleep.

Airway obstruction is called OSAS by the American Academy of Pediatrics and a great deal of research has been done to help diagnose and treat obstruction of airway and breathing difficulty. An extensive study of research done between the years 1966-2000 of children aged 2-18 showed that the prevalence of habitual snoring was between 3-12%, and estimates of OSAS were from 0.7-10%. In another study of children ages 3 ½ to 11 years old, 35 patients had frequent bed-wetting (enuresis) and after diagnosis of upper airway obstruction and surgical intervention, 26 children were completely cured of their bed-wetting immediately. Within 6 months, all children were completely cured of their enuresis.

Upper airway obstruction and sleep apnea can be evaluated at the initial and later cleaning appointments with an examination by the doctor. Sometimes it may be necessary to have the child be evaluated by their pediatrician or ear-nose-throat specialist to determine the extent of the problem and any surgical intervention. Sleep apnea and upper airway obstruction is a relatively common problems and can affect everything from facial growth and crowding of teeth, to head/neck and mouth posture and intelligence.

If your kiddo breathes with their mouth open, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have this condition, but if you are concerned, please talk to Dr. Dunne during your next appointment.