Thursday 16 October 2008

141) Pacifier: Leaving it up to three years

For years, the pacifier has become a pediatric maximum. This article that the babies so fond had become to blame for not wanting the little maternal breast, catch up infection in the ears, are apathetic and ill-tempered when no dummies and even by their smiles were a disaster in terms of teeth. Over time, demystify the science most of these beliefs and revealed in chucha a very useful tool for children and parents.
Portuguese experts warn, however, that the benefits of their use exist only up to two or three years of age at most. Thereafter, the child develops deformations of the cavity of the mouth, with consequences at various levels. The bottle reduces the incidence of sudden death of the newborn, is a very effective analgesic in painful procedures and the adverse effects that has on the proper alignment of the teeth are passengers. This means that for the toothlet back to the right place, the pacifier should disappear at the latest, to three years of age.
Nevertheless, a scientific study published in the latest issue of the journal 'General Dentistry' ultimately overthrow the idea that the pacifier is not as damaging to teeth of children. When a baby introduces the nipple drinker in the mouth of the bottle and do what the experts called non-nutritive sucking (the purpose of this act is not eat), the central lower teeth were slowly to deviate from inside, while those who are in the same plan, but in the upper jaw, tend to break away and go out ( 'teeth of rabbits'). Over time, the canine teeth clash with each other and both rows of teeth do not close properly (open bite).
In addition, the suction puts in place a series of muscles of the face, which together with the language, make the teeth in the upper and lower jaw lose parallelism (cross bite). To that malformations are appreciable is estimated to be necessary to exert a pressure more or less constant for six hours daily. The time factor and energy that applies in the small suction make a difference here.
"That explains why many children who use pacifiers do not develop any kind of tooth deformation," emphasizes Jane Soxman, author of the study and member of the American Society of Pediatric Dentistry, referring to children who use the bottle off at times (to go to sleep, for example) or are confined only to have it in your mouth without sucking. Liberius Ribeiro, the Portuguese Society of Pediatrics, suggests the consequences of a prolonged use of chucha: "The buccal cavity adapts to the characteristics of the pacifier and deforms the dental arch." But not only. According to pediatrician at the hospital in Santa Maria, Lisbon, the sky's mouth (palate) develops is oval in shape, which affect the mastication, respiration (by mouth) and orality. "In such cases, the child breathes evil, it is difficult to articulate words and chew on. The later withdrawing from the bottle to the child [after three years] becomes increasingly difficult to repair the deformation of the mouth. "
The long experience tells you that most parents can withdraw the bottle in due time - up to three years - but "there are still many cases of bottle five and six years". In these cases, Liberius Ribeiro advises parents to take the bottle after the child prior explanation, so that the small realize the situation and gives them incentives such as trips to playgrounds. This process must be done on vacation, which will allow parents and children relax after nights bad nights.

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