St Patrick’s Dental Clinic

31/12/2025

HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL🤎🦷

10/11/2025

Carious lesion progression, go on time to your dentist! We always say, once it hurts we're usually too late.

28/10/2025

When a pacifier habit continues beyond the age of two, it can begin to reshape how the jaws and teeth grow. The constant sucking pressure changes the balance between tongue, lips, and muscles — gradually pushing teeth and bones out of their natural alignment.

Over time, this can cause what dentists call an open bite — when the front teeth don’t meet even when the mouth is closed. It can also narrow the upper jaw, make teeth protrude, and affect the way a child swallows or speaks.

These changes don’t happen overnight. They develop silently, while the pacifier seems harmless on the surface. But once the jaw and bite adapt to this prolonged pressure, correcting it often requires orthodontic treatment later in life.

Pediatric dentists recommend weaning off the pacifier by 18–24 months to allow natural oral muscle balance and healthy jaw growth. Early awareness can prevent long-term dental complications and support normal speech and facial development.

📄Source: PMC2791560

🔹 Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional dental advice.

24/10/2025

Around 70% of children suck their thumb at some point.
It starts as a reflex — but if it continues beyond the toddler years, it can quietly reshape how teeth, jaws, and even the airway develop.

🔹 Why children suck their thumb

For some, it begins as a reflex that becomes a comfort habit — helping them relax or fall asleep.
For others, it’s an airway response — the thumb shifts the jaw and tongue forward, making breathing easier.
And in some, it acts as a neural reflex — pressure on the palate stimulates calming nerves, reinforcing the habit.

🔹 What happens inside the mouth

Normally, the tongue rests on the palate, helping widen the upper jaw and support nasal breathing.
But when a thumb replaces the tongue, it pushes the tongue down and cheeks inward — making the palate high, narrow, and constricted.
Studies show this can even reduce airway space by up to 3 mm on imaging.

🔹 How it changes teeth alignment

Front teeth stay apart → open bite
Upper teeth flare forward → overjet
Back teeth move inward → crossbite
Children with prolonged thumb sucking are 8× more likely to develop open bite and 3× more likely to develop crossbite.

🔹 The hidden facial changes

A thumb-kept-open mouth makes the lower jaw grow downward and backward instead of forward.
This leads to a long-face growth pattern, a retruded chin, and a narrow airway — early risk signs for sleep-disordered breathing.

🔹 The muscle memory effect

Thumb sucking retrains muscles the wrong way.
Low tongue posture weakens nasal breathing.
An open bite causes tongue thrust and frontal lisp.
Lips stay apart at rest, and weak muscles encourage chronic mouth breathing.

⚠️ Common signs parents might notice

– Mouth breathing and snoring
– Restless sleep or night terrors
– Bedwetting or grinding
– Enlarged tonsils or adenoids
– ADD/ADHD-like behavior
– Dry mouth and more cavities

Research links prolonged thumb sucking with higher risks of airway and sleep-related issues — because oral habits shape the airway system early in life.

💡 The good news — it’s reversible

Positive reinforcement: comfort toys, bedtime routines, reward charts.

Myofunctional therapy: retrains tongue posture, lip seal, and swallow.

Dental airway check (age 3–4): detects early issues like allergies, small jaws, or enlarged tonsils.

Early guidance can restore balance — protecting a child’s smile, breathing, and sleep for life.

🔹 Educational content only — not a substitute for professional dental advice.

14/08/2025

visit your dentist today!

This is why dentists sometimes recommend early wisdom tooth removal — when third molars stay impacted, they can trap the second molar, preventing eruption, causing crowding, and increasing the risk of cysts or bone loss. In this rare case, all three molars in one quadrant are impacted.

07/08/2025

take care of your teeth, they don’t grow back.
Good Morning!🪥🦷

🦷 Fun fact you can’t bite back:
Teeth are the only body part that can’t heal themselves.
Why? That tough outer layer called enamel isn’t alive—so once it’s damaged, it’s game over. 👀

Brush, floss, and protect the real OGs of your smile! 😁✨

24/07/2025

A dental cavity can become life-threatening.
This isn’t fearmongering—it’s a medical fact.

What many dismiss as “just a broken tooth” can become a direct pathway for bacteria to enter the body. Once a cavity reaches the pulp, harmful microbes can travel beyond the mouth—invading the jawbone, entering the bloodstream, and potentially causing severe conditions like sepsis or infective endocarditis—a dangerous inflammation of the heart’s inner lining.

What you see in this image isn’t just poor dental hygiene. It’s a reminder of what can happen when oral health is neglected. Tooth decay may start silently, but its consequences can be loud—and irreversible.

🦷 Remember, a cavity is an active infection, an open wound inside the mouth. In its early stages, it may not cause pain—but once symptoms appear, the damage is already advanced.

📌 Oral health is not just about a beautiful smile. It’s directly linked to your overall health—and in some cases, even your survival.

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This post is for public awareness. It does not replace professional dental advice. If you notice any symptoms—pain, swelling, sensitivity—please consult your dentist promptly.

11/05/2025

happy mother’s day!!!!🌹

14/04/2025

22/03/2025

St Patrick’s Dental Clinic
📍74 A Mabini St Burgos Montalban, Rizal
📞 (0962) 161 6237

Message us for inquiries! 🦷🪥