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Do dummies and thumb sucking damage teeth?.
A
The British Dental Health Foundation
recommends discouraging the use of dummy or thumb sucking. This is because it
can cause problems as the teeth grow and develop. The outward pressure of a thumb
or dummy pushes the upper front teeth and jaw forward and out of alignment. This
can result in prominent teeth and an over bite. Over bite is when the top teeth
sit over the bottom teeth. Dummy use can also affect speech development as a child
with a dummy will not use the full range of tongue movements As you can imagine
the longer your baby uses a dummy or sucks their thumb the more chance there is
of changing the shape of the inside of the mouth and problems arising.
This can be a hard habit to break as you child gains comfort
from the sucking. So try to limit the times when you give your child a dummy.
The most likely time your child will need a dummy is when they are going to
sleep, not all day and night.
If this is the case try and get them to dump the habit.
Dummies can damage teeth
if you dip it into anything sweet such as jam or fruit juices as this will cause
tooth decay
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