Children
Common occurrence in children: over retained teeth AKA shark teeth - These while annoying are not a cause for concern, the tongue is very strong and will eventually push these baby teeth out.
If they have been present for more than 8 weeks we recommend upping the encouragement to wriggle and to brush them and play with their tongue - Kids have 20 baby teeth to loose the sooner they get used to wriggling them the better!
Any concerns please call the clinic and prolonged over retained teeth can cause food trapping and some inflammation if this occurs we can help but giving it a wriggle in the clinic.
Over retained teeth can occur anywhere in the mouth however anteriorly is most common.
Over Retained Teeth
Thumb sucking what to do, where to start and who to turn to get information here and see what treatment options are available:
Positive reinforcement always, where a child has been thumb sucking for awhile the will have narrowed the palate and/or created a posterior cross bite due to the narrowing and squeezing in of the upper arch, also to note most thumb suckers have an anterior open bite - meaning there is a gap between the jaws, this can contribute to lisps and speech issues.
At rest the tongue is meant to rest on the palate encouraging it to be broad and wide- this means we also need to liaise with an Orthodontist.
As frustrating as it may be remember then child has been self soothing for a long time and this habit cannot be cold turkey stopped, it's a process breathe and support your little as best you can and seek professional help, the younger to seek help the better.
Most ideal age for Anti-habit plate on the palate is between 7-8 years old. Below are some pictures of my daughter now 11 years old had her plate at 8 years and 2 months for 6 months.
New updates added regularly!
Thumb Sucking
Anti-habit Plate
