The process thus leads to soft tissue dysfunction at much early stage. The following happens when bottles , Sippy cups or pacifiers are introduced
1. The tongue is pushed down and out , (but in breastfeeding it will be pushed up against the palate, refer pic below). This leads to collapsing of the upper jaw and narrowing of the lower jaw which tremendously increases the risk of mouthbreathing.
2. The cheek muscles are hyper activated and this leads to pressure on the upper jaw making it narrow and increasing the breathing disorders risk.
3. The child starts using facial muscles to swallow which normally isn’t involved this hyperactivates the muscles thereby pushing the jaws to grow downward and backward. This In turn increases the risk of developing snoring and sleep disordered breathing in future , predisposing the child to Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea ( PoSA).