The chewing in children strengthens the facial muscles, tongue, lips, and cheeks, and helps the jaw and maxilla grow properly. If children do not chew enough, problems may arise with their teeth, swallowing, or digesting food. Providing children with foods of different textures and taking care of their oral health helps ensure that their orofacial development is more functional.

Why is chewing so important for children?

Chewing doesn't happen on its own. This process begins around 6 months of age and continues to develop until the child is 2 or 3 years old, by which time they are already chewing various types of foods and textures. Children’s chewing skills continue to improve until they are 10 or 15 years old, at which point they develop a pattern quite similar to that of an adult. 

Doing it correctly strengthens the muscles of the jaw, tongue, lips, and cheeks, and helps coordinate complex movements, as well as control head and body posture so that eating is safe. Every time children chew, their mouths learn what to do: from clenching their teeth tightly to coordinating all the parts involved to grind food before swallowing.

Infant Feeding and Orofacial Development

As we grow, jaw movements and bite force send signals to the facial bones. The muscles involved, such as the masseter and temporalis, exert pressure on the bones, which widening the dental arch and balancing the bite, as well as improving the relationship between the jaw and the skull. 

That said, eating habits play a key role in this process. For starters, breastfeeding encourages the baby to make strong, coordinated sucking motions that, in addition to influencing jaw growth, help the tongue to adopt the correct position. As they begin to eat solid foods of different textures, they gradually learn to move their jaw and strengthen their facial muscles.

People who eat mostly soft foods don't need to chew as much, so stimulation is limited. In these cases, malocclusions, a narrow palate, or bite problems may develop, and it also affects coordination during swallowing and speaking, sometimes leading to mouth breathing and tongue thrusting.

In addition, chewing stimulates the salivary glands responsible for moistening the mouth, facilitating swallowing and digestion, as well as protecting teeth and gums. If saliva production decreases, dry mouth. Furthermore, when food is not chewed properly, digestion is complicated and the feeling of fullness is reduced. 

Studies show that children who chew, swallow, and breathe bettertend to have much better-developed jaws and maxillae, largely thanks to a varied and nutritious diet. 

How to Teach Children to Chew Properly

To determine whether a child is chewing properly, specialists observe how the child breaks down foods of different textures, whether they have enough strength to bite and how they coordinate chewing with swallowing and breathing. These checkups help detect difficulties or delays in jaw development so that intervention can occur in a timely manner.

1. Try different textures

Gradually introducing foods with different textures helps improve chewing skills. This is a skill that improves with practice: the greater the variety of foods, the better the mouth movements adapt. Start with soft pieces of fruit, cooked vegetables with some texture, tender meats, and whole-grain breads. Follow a gradual progression: from purees to foods that require moderate chewing, and then to firmer foods to stimulate the muscles.

2. Avoid overdoing it with purees

Feeding purees and very finely chopped foods for too long can delay the development of chewing skills. It is very important that children have the opportunity to chew foods with some texture, limiting as much as possible ultra-processed or very soft foods that require little effort and reduce stimulation.

3. Promote balanced chewing

Encouraging them to chew on both sides of their mouth helps their jaw develop symmetrically, without imbalances, muscle discomfort, or changes in facial shape over time. Ideally, they should chew each bite several times and not swallow food too quickly or when it is already overly chewed. 

Products for comprehensive oral health

The professional care products can help support children’s oral health, always under the supervision of pediatric dentists. 

If children have a diet that includes foods of different textures, good chewing habits, and a healthy mouth (supported by solutions like this), it promotes more comprehensive functional development.