FUNCTIONAL HABITS

Functional habits include thumb sucking, mouth breathing or a tongue thrust habit which can contribute to the unfavorable growth of the jaws. Oral habits can commonly cause the upper front teeth to stick out and can contribute to speech problems. The best way to intercept a habit is to first make certain that the child has a proper size airway and can breath through the nose. In cases where there are serious allergies, swollen adenoids or tonsils, a referral to an Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist must be done.

Open Bite Do the upper and lower teeth not meet in the front when your child bites together?	Deep Bite Do the upper teeth completely hide the lower teeth when you bite down, or does your child bite on the roof of their mouth?
Overjet Do the upper front teeth seem to be more noticeable and stick out quite a bit, compared to the lower front teeth?	Crossbite When you look into your child's mouth are the upper teeth on the inside of the lower teeth? If you think of the upper jaw as the garage and the lower jaw as the car?the garage should be bigger than the car!
	Facial Asymmetry When looking at your child from the front does it appear that their face, or chin are shifted to one side. Are they growing crooked?   Earaches Sometimes a bad bite or a deep bite can cause undue pressure on the small membranes of the ear, contributing to earaches.
Crowding Are the permanent teeth starting to come in crowded?

These are all signs that your child may need early intervention!