Kids Are Growing a Face: how can parents best help promote craniofacial development?
- Alex Kelly
- Aug 19
- 12 min read
Updated: Aug 21
Understanding your child’s early years is essential for their lifelong growth and development. By age two, more than half of the upper and lower jaw growth has already taken place, and the skull has reached about 80% of its adult size. The remaining 20% of craniofacial growth occurs gradually between ages 2 and 17—years that are critical for shaping your child’s future health.
During this time, the jaws and airway continue to develop. The airway expands significantly after birth, with both diameter and length doubling or even tripling by adulthood. Proper nasal breathing and healthy tongue function during these growth stages are vital for supporting jaw development, airway health, and overall well-being.
When the jaws develop normally, they create the ideal structural foundation: space for all teeth to come in straight, no TMJ problems, a healthy airway, proper tongue posture, and strong craniofacial support. These conditions not only allow children to thrive—they set the stage for optimal, lifelong health.
Unfortunately, modern lifestyle factors—such as soft diets, processed foods, environmental toxins, allergies, and other epigenetic influences—often interfere with this natural process. As a result, underdeveloped jaws have become increasingly common. Structural impairments in the mouth can lead to crowded teeth, malocclusions, sleep-breathing disorders, and ultimately, long-term health challenges.
Sleep Breathing Disorders: A Growing Epidemic
A sleep breathing disorder is when someone has trouble breathing properly while they sleep (many throughout the day, as well). For kids, this can show up as snoring, restless sleep, mouth breathing, or even pauses in breathing during the night. Because their bodies are still growing, these interruptions can affect everything from brain development and behavior to growth and overall health.
When a child’s airway is too small or blocked, often due to underdeveloped jaws, enlarged tonsils/adenoids, or chronic allergies, it can make it harder for them to get enough oxygen while they sleep. Instead of the deep, restorative sleep their body needs, they wake up tired, cranky, and may struggle with focus, energy, or even mood during the day.
Possible Signs & Symptoms
Mouth breathing
Snoring and Sleep apnea
Unrestful sleep
Frequent nighttime urination
Prolonged bedwetting
Chronic neck and shoulder pain
ADD/ADHD
Upper respiratory infections
Lips apart at rest
Chapped, crust lips
Inflamed gums and cavities
Hyperactive gag reflex
Speech difficulty / delayed speech
Teeth grinding
Headaches and migraines
Narrow palate
Crooked teeth
Vertigo/clumsiness
Agression/defiance
Allergies/asthma
Nightmares/night terrors
Recessed/stunted chin
Dark circles under the eyes
Daytime sleepiness
The good news? With the right support, many sleep breathing issues can be improved or even corrected. Addressing airway health early can help your child sleep soundly, breathe freely, and thrive. We will get to what you can do if a child has an active sleep breathing disorder further down below, but let's first address what you can do in the infant - early toddlerhood stage to hopefully prevent altogether.
Infants: Promoting Properly Craniofacial Development
It’s important to start supporting healthy breathing and jaw development from infancy because this is when the foundation for your child’s airway and sleep health is being built. By the time a baby turns two, most of the jaw growth and skull development has already happened. If habits like mouth breathing, poor tongue posture, or frequent congestion go unnoticed early on, they can affect how the jaws, airway, and facial structures grow.
When these issues are addressed in infancy—through things like encouraging nasal breathing, supporting breastfeeding (which naturally strengthens the tongue and jaw), and managing allergies or congestion—you give your child the best chance at developing wide, healthy jaws and an open airway. This lowers the risk of sleep breathing disorders later in childhood and even into adulthood.
Addressing Oral Restrictions Early On
Tongue, lip, and cheek ties are more than just minor anatomical quirks—they’re oral restrictions that can impact everything from feeding and sleep to speech and facial development. The tongue plays a crucial role as the body’s natural palate expander. When it isn’t able to rest properly against the roof of the mouth—its ideal position—due to factors like tongue-tie, low muscle tone, or weak tongue strength, this can contribute to mouth breathing and improper jaw development.
There are many clear symptoms of a restriction such as nipple pain for mom, difficulty feeding, unexplained reflux, blisters on lips, etc. However, it is my personal belief that all infants should establish care with an airway focused dentist or an IBCLC with proper training in ties shortly after birth (just like they do with pediatricians), because many babies are very good at compensating and will show no signs of a restriction, even with one present.
Despite growing awareness, many families are left confused or misled because not all providers are qualified to diagnose or treat ties appropriately. In fact, most pediatricians, ENTs, and even some dentists receive little to no training in infant oral restrictions, which often leads to dismissals, misdiagnosis, or poorly done releases. That’s why who you see matters just as much as whether or not your baby has a tie. Check out this guide on how to find the right providers who are properly equipped to help.
Breastfeeding is Best
The following is not at all a debate about formula vs breast milk, but rather a breakdown of the factual differences in feeding pattern that are developed with each.
Bottle-fed babies use their buccinator and lip muscles to feed, compared to breastfed babies who primarily use their tongue.
When a baby breastfeeds, the nipple naturally draws deep into the mouth and presses against the palate. The baby’s tongue and facial muscles have to work actively to extract milk, and this effort helps shape the mouth. The gentle but consistent pressure on the palate encourages it to widen, while the movement of the jaw and sutures stimulates bone growth, creating broader, healthier jaws.
This study that looked at bottle vs breastfeeding and the development of the maxillofacial complex noted that the tongue's position is lower during bottle-feeding than during breastfeeding, resulting in a weaker stimulation of the tongue and mandible. As a result, the masseter and pterygoid work is reduced.
Breastfeeding engages the masseter, temporalis, and pterygoid muscles, helping them develop in both size and strength. It also stimulates the temporomandibular joint and supports forward growth of the lower jaw (mandible). Early activation of these muscles, along with the maxillo-nasal complex during nursing, lays the foundation for proper chewing function later in life. Together with genetic and environmental factors, this muscle activity plays a direct role in the growth of the upper and lower jaws as well as the overall development of the oral and facial muscles.
Another study concluded that breastfed children tend to exhibit more favorable ideal occlusion values compared to those who were fed formula.
The same study did note that the bottle nipple and quality of movement can play a role in feeding effectiveness when it comes to bottle
The Bottle You Choose Matters
The reality is, there are going to be cases where breast-feeding isn't possible. Thankfully, not all hope is lost! The same study above noted that the bottle nipple and quality of latch & movement can play a role in feeding effectiveness when it comes to bottle-feeding babies.
First, you want to ensure there are no oral restrictions (for breast-fed babies as well), then you want to look for a bottle nipple that mimics the breast as best as possible. You want to avoid nipples with wide necks and short nipples that will promote a shallow latch. Instead, look for nipples that have a gradual slope that will promote more of a deep breast-tissue like latch. And the slower the slow the better! Slow flow nipples are typically recommended because it allows baby to control the milk flow and develop better sucking patterns
Don't be fooled by marketing buzz words like "mimics the breast." Often times, only the body of the bottle itself mimics the breast - not the nipple, which is the ONLY part that matters.
The Pacifier You Choose Matters
Pacifiers can actually have benefits, especially in the early months. They provide comfort and may even play a role in strengthening oral muscles. The concern isn’t with pacifiers themselves, but with the shape of the paci and how much/how long they’re used. Prolonged or frequent use, particularly past the infant stage, can increase the risk of issues like crooked teeth, changes in jaw growth, and speech difficulties.
From birth, infants should be resting/sleeping with their tongue up in the palate, pacifiers hinder this proper resting position. When it isn’t, we need to dig deeper to figure out why. Are ties present? Are they carrying tension that needs released by a CST or body worker?
What about "orthodontic" pacifiers? Again, this is misleading marketing!
When a child sucks on a pacifier (or thumb or bottle) their cheeks and lips are pulled in. This forces the upper gums inward. The tongue pushes the pacifier into the roof of the mouth and pushes against the nasal airways. The sides of the tongue are forced outward against the lower gums, pushing them apart. None of this is beneficial for optimal tongue placement, jaw development, or palate expansion.
If there is pacifier use it is best to choose one that is cylindrical shaped like the Ninni pacifier, or any of these, as well as eliminating the habit by the time the child is transitioning to a chew pattern (6 months).
If You're Going to Use a Paci: According to a Myofunctional Therapist
Choose cylindrical shaped
Should pacify the child for a brief period, not occupy the mouth
Should not be used every time baby cries
Should not be given in the crib all night
Should not have free range access
If baby spits it out, don’t keep putting it back in
Wean by 4-6 months
Kimberly White, CCC-SLP, COM
Allergies & Food Sensitivities
Children with chronic allergies and food sensitivities often struggle with congestion and inflammation, which can force them to breathe through their mouths. Chronic mouth breathing can influence how the face and jaws develop. Shifts in oral posture from constant mouth breathing can alter growth patterns.
Additionally, our nose is designed to prepare the air for the lungs. The nose warms, filters, accelerates, humidifies, and cleans the air, which leads to efficient oxygen exchange in the lungs. The mouth does none of this, and actually reduces oxygen absorption.
Nasal breathing also produces nitric oxide, an anti-inflammatory molecule that aids in immune function. Where as mouth breathing decreases immunity and causes inflammation throughout the body. This is why palatal expansion can often decrease the size of tonsils.
Mouth-breathing can also lead to cavities and gum disease by drying out the oral environment. A dry mouth means less saliva, which is critical for washing away food particles and neutralizing the acids produced by bacteria. Without enough saliva, the risks of cavities, gum problems, and bad breath increase significantly.
Many airway dentists are equipped to food test and/or refer out to well-trusted allergists to help treat the root cause - not just manage symptoms!
Children Need to Chew
Kids are growing a face, and they need to chew! It’s one of the simplest yet most important parts of growing up, and it plays a big role in how the face and skull develop. Life today looks very different from when humans lived as hunter-gatherers, and one major change happened after the Industrial Revolution...is our food.
Modern diets rely heavily on soft, processed options, and the baby food industry has turned this into a billion-dollar market. Parents are often told that infants should only eat pureed foods, but this isn’t how our bodies were designed to develop.
As far back as the late 1800s, Dr. Weston A. Price, a Canadian dentist, began exploring the link between nutrition, dental health, and overall well-being. By the 1930s, he was traveling the globe—visiting places like Switzerland, Australia, and Polynesia—to study populations still eating traditional diets. His extensive research, which included over 15,000 photographs and thousands of slides, culminated in his landmark 1939 book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. His work highlighted how food choices directly influence dental and facial development, as well as long-term health.
One of Dr. Price’s most striking findings was the difference in facial growth between people eating their traditional diets and those who had shifted to a more “Westernized” way of eating.
Populations that relied on whole, unprocessed foods had broader, well-developed jaws and faces compared to those consuming more refined, softer foods. Even more remarkable, they had almost no cavities or gum disease.
Baby led weaning allows for children to safely begin to work on their chew pattern while also working the muscles of the jaw to stimulate that optimal cranial and facial development. Safety should be taken into consideration to foods served, paying attention to which teeth have erupted. The app Solids Starts is a great resource. You can easily search any food, and they will visually show you how to properly prepare it for baby's age. As children grow, crunchy, tough, and chewy foods such as carrot sticks, apple slices, and beef jerky are great examples of foods that encourage chewing. You can also use chewing devices such as the MyoMunchee and ArkTools or TalkTools chewing toys.
This study took a look at the relationship between nutrition and jaw development in children. They found that introducing solid foods earlier is linked to better jaw and teeth alignment and can also help create small gaps between the lower teeth (mandibular diastemas), which makes room for adult teeth to come in properly. On that note...do not let dentists remove teeth because "they don't fit."
Do Not Let Dentists Remove Teeth because "they don't fit"!!!
It's mind blowing to me this is still a thing. If your child's provider is suggesting tooth extractions, it's time to switch providers and find one who is airway focused and knowledgeable in expansion.
Rather than pulling teeth, expanding the jaw encourages natural growth and gives teeth the room they need to line up correctly. Jaw expansion does more than improve alignment—a wider jaw also supports a healthier airway, proper tongue placement, and overall better facial development, not just a straighter smile.
The Cups that You Choose
Prolonged sippy cup use (and 360 cup) can lead to immature swallowing and muscle development, improper teeth development, open mouth posture, airway risk, and more. Instead look for non-valved, thin, and short straws - or open cup.
Why Non-Valved Straws: Valved straws promote more of a suckling motion than sipping which is needed to help develop a mature swallow and facial development. Valves create an abnormal motor pattern. You want your child to have a rounded lip and suck with control, no force. You don’t want your child to have to bite and brace in order to drink.
Many cups have their valves in the tip of the straw (example Zak and Owala). Cups like these you can easily trim off the valve - turning it into a regular straw. Or use these sparingly as travel cups.
Why Thin Straws: Thin straws are *more important when first learning to drink through a straw. They bring up a smaller portion of liquid which makes it easier/safer to swallow, thicker straws can be more difficult to drink out of when it comes to tiny baby/toddler mouths, it can also cause a child to drink too much liquid too quickly lowering their capacity for solids.
Short Straws: A short straw allows the tip of the straw to to just reach the tip of the child’s tongue. This allows the tongue tip to reach UP in order to develop a mature swallow pattern.
Why Open Cups: Open cups activate lip closure and tongue elevation. Drinking from an open cup allows the facial muscles and bone structure to grow normally, promoting proper speech, feeding, and swallowing skills. The mature swallow pattern is with the tongue elevated toward the roof of the mouth. Drinking from an open cup helps promote this mature swallow. *When babies/toddlers drink from a sippy cup they are forced into an immature swallow with their tongue being thrusted forward. Drinking from an open cup can also promote speech development. It promotes strong lip closure which is needed for producing the m, p, and b sounds in English, Spanish, and other languages. It also promotes proper tongue elevation for the t and d sounds.
My Favorite Cups:
If my baby is just learning how to drink from a straw: TalkTools Honey Bear
If I wanted something for "on the go": Thermons Funtainer
If I wanted the least amount of plastic & silicone as possible: Brumate Leap
If I wanted something for milk & juice: Elk & Friends and Olababy
If my kid has a tendency of sticking the whole straw in their mouth: Ezpz
Additional Ways/Activities to Promote Development
TalkTools has great teething and chew devices to help guide the child from infancy sucking pattern to toddler chew pattern
The MyoMunchee Bebe can be used for oral stimulation instead of a pacifier. It helps train the tongue to be in proper position up on the palate. This allows the tongue to provide the nervous system stimulation rather than something like a pacifier.
Use the REMplenish MyoNozzle
use ARK’s Lip Blok to naturally exercise the mouth muscles, discourage tongue thrusting, promote tongue retraction, and correct overall tongue positioning
Incorporate oral activities into daily routine
blow through whistles
drink through straws
blow cotton balls across the table
blow bubbles (ARK’s Bubble Straw is a great tool)
If You're an Adult - It's Never Too Late!
While it's best and easiest to address issues in babies and children, many adults have benefited tremendously from tongue tie releases and/or expansion. It's never too late! The first step is finding yourself an airway focused practitioner who will help you address the root cause, and get you back to optimal, whole body health!
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