Nowadays, we are becoming more and more informed and aware of health and nutrition in general.
That is why today we remember the importance of feeding in babies, which is the beginning of true preventive orthodontics. We emphasise the importance of sucking at the breast, because sucking is one of the most important functions of the mouth for the development of the baby! This prepares the phonoarticulatory organs for other important functions such as chewing and correctly articulated speech. Trying to avoid dummy use, starting complementary feeding at the right time are some important points.
It may happen that breastfeeding is not always possible and in this case there is only the possibility to use a bottle. In such cases, the hole in the nipple of the bottle should never be enlarged. This would increase the milk flow and the child would not need to make adequate neuromuscular effort. The ideal muscle tone of the oral neuromuscular structures occurs with vigorous and rhythmic sucking.
But we must also bear in mind that babies breathe through the nose. It can often happen that pathologies develop that encourage the baby to breathe through the mouth temporarily, which is why we must be careful to detect any changes in respiratory development early on. So that they do not develop chronic mouth breathing.
We must be demanding and remember that it is important to take the baby to the paediatric dentist as soon as the first teeth appear.
