We Service Arvada, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Denver, Broomfield, Golden and Summit County

Smart choices for your infants growth and development

AVOID

Buying or using a Wubbanub or similar pacifiers.

Unfortunately, these types of pacifiers are the most addictive and damaging to your child’s skeletal and oral function development.

Prolonged oral habits (all oral habits should be broken by 4 months old):

Oral habits negatively affect your child’s long term growth and oral development. For instance, they can cause airway and speech problems.  Therefore, the sooner you can break oral habits, the better!

Ignoring developmental milestones of oral functions such as speech development.

The younger the child, the easier it is for therapists to help correct issues such as speech.  Thus, do not delay in seeking professional help!


MINIMIZE

Pacifier use.

Pacifier use can create incorrect swallowing patterns and tongue thrust.  As a result, these can adversely affect your child’s airway, TMJ, speech development, and alignment of the teeth.

Use of pureed food/pouch feeding

Correct jaw development needs correct pressure stimulation, which comes from a harder diet. Therefore, prolonged feeding on very soft foods can cause lack of jaw growth which in turn results in overcrowding of teeth.

Bottle feeding

Similar to pacifier use, bottle feeding negatively affects your child’s growth and development.

Sharing food and utensils

The bacteria that can lead to cavities are often transmitted to the mouth via sharing of food and utensils.

Grazing

Grazing causes the mouth to turn acidic for prolonged periods, which can lead to premature breakdown of tooth structure.


INTEGRATE MORE

Infant self soothing

Self soothing teaches the tongue to be in the correct resting posture which, over time, will help shape a healthy airway structure.

Breastfeeding beyond the health benefits of infancy

Breastfeeding plays a critical role in shaping future skeletal and oral development.

Harder diet

Correct chewing pressure influences proper bone growth in the head and neck area.

Brushing with your child

This will help your child to be a better and more engaged brusher.

Awareness to how your child is breathing while awake and asleep

Airway problems do not improve on their own; by monitoring how your child is breathing, you can be a better advocate for your child’s long term health. Therefore, snoring or mouth-breathing for more than 3 nights a week is not normal, at any age.

Sleep hygiene

Sleep plays a critical role in your child’s growth and development.  Moreover, creating a healthy sleep routine will help your child get much better sleep.


Infant Self Soothing 2:00

– Harder Diet 10:11

-Brushing With Your Child 12:22

-Awareness of The Way Your Child Is Breathing 13:14

-Sleep Hygiene 14:52


Other important videos to watch

Breastfeeding/Oral Habits

https://kidfocusdentistry.com/breastfeeding-oral-habits/

How to break oral habits

https://kidfocusdentistry.com/break-childs-oral-habits/

Teething and cavity prevention

https://kidfocusdentistry.com/teething-cavity-prevention/