Q: My 8-year-old son has a habit of holding his lower lip with his teeth most of the time. He does this even while sleeping. We have tried to stop him, but couldn't. Now his upper teeth have protruded and look ugly. His classmates make fun of him & he feels disappointed. Our family doctor has advised to go for clips when he is 12 years old. But we have moved out of the city and are no longer in touch with the doctor. How should we go about this problem? My wife's friends complain that its parents' fault. Please advise.

A:It is very easy for others to blame the parents. Ignore it. Your child needs to have Orthodontic treatment now. He needs to get a habit breaking appliance like a lip bumper that will stop the lip from being held behind the teeth. Since your son is 8 and is still growing, some amount of self-correction will take place with this simple appliance. Later once the habit has been completely stopped you can get corrective orthodontic treatment done if required to correct the protrusion of the teeth. Twelve years as suggested is a good age for this.