Chewy Qs
Why Chewy Q’s?
Chewy Q’s promote healthy mouth development.
Chewy Q’s:
- Develop biting skills safely and naturally
- Promote proper alignment of the upper and lower jaw
- Transition babies off the pacifier
- Stimulate lateral tongue exploration
- Support development of the masseter jaw muscle
Chewy Q’s promote healthy mouth development.
Specifically Chewy Qs support:
1. Mature tongue movement by providing tactile stimulation (stem-like protrusion of the Q) for side to side and extended tongue exploration. This is especially true at 6 months (and beyond) when the baby’s tongue naturally matures beyond vertical movement and develops motion on a horizontal plane of movement inside the mouth.
2. Up and down jaw motion needed for biting and chewing skills. Using the stem-like protrusion as an object of oral interest, a 6 or 7 month old baby will naturally position the stem on the side of the jaw to bite on it. This biting helps to mature and strengthen the masseter muscle which is in charge of constantly closing the jaw for biting, chewing and talking.
3. healthy upper and lower dentition by eliminating risk of open bite (open space between upper & lower dentition that prevents normal occlusion) in anterior dentition due to rigorous pacifier use or thumbsucking.
4. healthy hard palate formation by preventing malformations to the palate due to aggressive
pacifier use (impingement of the pacifier bulb into the palate).
Chewy Q’s encourage early mouthing experiences that support the transition
from tongue exploration to lateral jaw action, facilitating the development of the
masseter muscle needed for speech biting and chewing skills.
Chewy Q’s encourage early mouthing experiences that support the transition
from midline tongue exploration to lateral jaw movement. This transition facilitates
the maturity of the masseter muscle needed for speech development, and biting and
chewing skills.