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The older a child gets, the more difficult it is to wean them from pacifiers or thumb sucking. With the "oral vestibule plate", misalignments of the jaw and teeth can be avoided at an early stage!
"Konrad!" Said the mother's wife, "I'll go out and you stay there. Be nice and tidy and pious until I get home. And above all, Konrad, listen, don't suck your thumb anymore." So begins the "story of the thumbsucker" in Struwwelpeter, which was written in 1844 by the Frankfurt doctor and psychiatrist Heinrich Hoffmann and is one of the most successful German children's books.
The subject of thumb sucking remains topical as ever: the older a child gets, the more difficult it is to wean them from thumb sucking or the pacifier. However, training with an "oral vestibule" can dissuade children from doing so.
Why children should be weaned from pacifiers and the like
While the suckling need of infants is quite natural and soothes them through the release of endorphins, the risk of jaw changes and misalignment of the teeth increases with the age of a child who sucks on the thumb or pacifier. Sucking can also disturb the tongue in its natural resting position. And for the development of speech and swallowing, the tongue has to learn to lie behind the teeth on the upper palate - this is not possible with a pacifier or thumb in the mouth.
What is an oral vestibule?
The oral vestibule plate is a pacifier-like plate and is, at best, individually manufactured and adapted in a dental practice, it lies loosely between the lips and teeth and is held by the lip-closing reflex. This satisfies the need to suckle and at the same time ensures that the jaw and teeth can develop undisturbed.
This means that complex orthodontic treatments are often unnecessary later on. Any misalignments that have already occurred can be gently regulated in this way. In addition, the oral vestibule trains the correct position of the tongue, improves pronunciation, helps to switch from mouth to nose breathing and prevents nail biting or lip sucking. Even stubborn pacifiers and thumb suckers can be weaned quickly and in a targeted manner.
