Could a sippy cup cause a toddlers teeth to move forward?
Speech pathologist Sandra Holtzman believes that toddlers could develop lisps and other speech problems from using sippy-cups. Sippy-cups and thumb-sucking can cause difficulty with articulation. When a child sucks his or her thumb, the thumb is placed on the roof of the mouth where the tongue should be. The tongue displacement and the thumb and/or sippy-cup keep the lips apart, which encourages open-mouth breathing and can cause teeth to move. It also makes it hard for the child to correctly swallow food or liquid. Pacifying toddlers can harm development of teeth For fussy babies, a pacifier can calm and soothe. However, dental experts warn that once a child reaches the preschool years, a pacifier can become a habit that impedes the development of healthy teeth. If a child continues using a pacifier past the age of 3, serious dental malformation can occur, says Al Tonn, DDS, Delta Dental’s pediatric dentist consultant. The most common malformation is an open space in the front teeth o
