Infant Sucking differs considerably from Infant Suckling. , INFANT SUCKING places constricting forces on the jaws. The circular muscle around the lips puts heavy pressure backwards---try sucking on a straw and feel the force on the eye teeth area. Sucking is more of a lung drawing force, which can be aided by gravity, depending upon feeding/bottle position. Sucking places bad deforming forces on the dental arches which then translate into forces which oppose natural jaw growth and development. Sucking a bottle or pacifier can push back both jaws in various ways, thereby creating the higher incidences and varieties of malocclusion and dental crowding. NOTE: The good work of Dr. Brian Palmer in showing the grand difference between occlusions Pre-BOTTLE and Post-Bottle....OR...just think about what prevents the jaw from growing properly and forming enough room for 3rd molars---wisdom teeth. Soft diet, sucking, lack of jaw stimulation---suckling and heavy chewing. INFANT SUCKLING places down and forward growing forces on the jaws. Suckling is an active jaw undulating forceful milking of the breast...whereby the tongue pull on the breast and palate stimulates proper 3-dimensional growth of the upper and lower jaw bones and reduces malocclusion and dental crowding. It also stimulates posterior dental arch width growth as the wider extension of the breast (than a bottle nipple) forces lateral width to the palate all the way back to the S-spot (as so named by Joanne Burke-Snyder, LC.) which makes for better width to the human airway. SUCKING A PACIFIER not only dramatically interpheres with and decreases overall success and length of breast feeding, but it also dramatically impacts the soft pliable infant palate by forcing the anterior section (pre-maxilla) up and into the nasal passage...thereby increasing nasal resistance and decreasing ability to successfully produce a NASAL BREATHER....which is PARAMOUNT to overall Oxygenation, Health, and Longevity. Sincerely, DCPage,DDS Next: NASAL BREATHING, NITRIC OXIDE, O sats of BF vs. FF, & BRAIN FUNCTION *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html