Suggestions for the Treatment of Abnormal Mouth Habits

Oral Habits and their Management

“…On the basis of the available evidence, the most efficient techniques of eliminating undesirable sucking behaviors employ the aversive-conditioning techniques or the so-called punitive appliances. Although they have been used for many years (e.g., Massler and Wood, 1949;Massler and Chopra, 1959;Teuscher, 1940), these methods continue to generate controversy largely because of dentists' incomplete understanding of their theoretical justifications. The first conclusive studies on aversive conditioning (i.e., use of the palatal crib) were undertaken by Haryett and colleagues (1967) and Davidson et al (1967) in children aged four years and older.…”