My baby sucks his finger, what do I do?
The digital suction is a harmful habit difficult to remove and with a deforming capacity of the mouth greater than the pacifier. There is almost always an emotional component and a special personality. They are usually children with an important parental dependence and it will be the psychologist who knows best how to treat the problem.
The specialist can help by placing in his mouth devices that serve to remind the child that "he is putting his finger to his mouth" but, only, from the moment when the child has the desire to quit, because if "we place an appliance "and the child does not want to leave it will continue sucking the finger and worsen the deformation instead of improving.
When your child reaches its first year of life you should try to remove the pacifier and remove the habit of sucking your finger at night, as it can produce maxillary deformations.
Eye with the pacifier
The pacifier has the function of filling the need to suck that the baby has. If your child covers this with breastfeeding or nursing and is calm, there is no need to put a pacifier in his mouth.
The pacifier must meet all the legal and health requirements established by the legislation. Everyone is at risk of interfering with the growth of the jaws deforming them, therefore, none can be recommended especially, although, if the child is going to use it, it is better that it is small and that the parents remove it at one year of age. It can produce dental deformations because the volume of the pacifier creates a space between them, but it can also lead to alterations in the growth of the maxillary and mandible bones that have a more complicated treatment.
Tips to take care of the baby's oral development
1. The pacifier should be removed at one year of age. The degree of restlessness when removing the pacifier is variable and depends on the child. It will claim for a few days and parents will have to "endure that stage", so it is better to choose a family quiet time.
2. How to remove the baby's pacifier.The procedures are multiple and will depend on the degree of maturity of your child. You can use a wide variety of reasoning or phrases such as: "The Perez Mouse took him", "he has fallen through the window", "he has been lost on the beach", "honey, you are old and I think you should leave the pacifier ", etc. Sometimes it is useful to gradually cut small pieces of the teat, without the child seeing it, so that it becomes less and less rewarding.
Since the appearance of the first teeth, it is important that you include progressively in your child's diet solid foods for correct craniofacial development and maxillary adjustment. Excessive feeding with crushed foods, purees or porridges can generate a disorder in the growth of the dentition and an early appearance of caries.
Paula Bodes
Advisor: Dr. Elena Barbería. Professor of the Department of Prophylaxis, Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Complutense University of Madrid.
