Are you worried about your child sucking their thumb? It’s pretty normal for babies to suck their thumbs or fingers for comfort. In fact, this habit can begin even before birth that can be seen in ultrasounds of babies sucking their thumbs in the womb. This helps them feel secure and explore their surroundings. But if they keep sucking their thumb past age 3, it might cause problems with their bite.
Thumb sucking might not seem like a big deal at first, but it can eventually affect your child’s teeth and mouth in different ways, leading to crooked teeth or trouble speaking. Here, we’ll talk about how thumb sucking can affect your child’s mouth and what you can do to help them stop.
Keep reading to find out how something as simple as thumb-sucking affect your child’s teeth!
What Causes Thumb Sucking in Children?
Thumb sucking is something babies start doing even before they’re born! It is what makes them feel protected and helps them calm down. This habit is part of their natural reflexes, helping them with breastfeeding. It’s common for babies and toddlers to suck their thumbs or use pacifiers.
Usually, they stop on their own, but if kids keep sucking their thumb or using pacifiers past the age of 3 to 5, it could cause dental problems.
Types of Thumb Sucking
Almost every other kid has the habit of sucking their fingers or thumb, but excessive sucking can hurt their teeth and mouth. There are two main types—
- Passive Thumb Sucking
- Active Thumb Sucking
Passive is when they just hold their thumb in their mouth, and active is when they suck on it. However, both can cause dental problems.
It might make their teeth crooked or create problems with their bite. Braces can fix these issues, but it’s better to prevent them in the first place. Thumb sucking can also impact the jaw by misaligning the muscles causing jaw problems like TMJ disorders.
Effects of Thumb Sucking on Your Children’s Teeth
1. Crooked Teeth: Thumbsucking can make your child’s teeth grow crooked or misaligned. This happens because sucking their thumb puts pressure on their teeth, which can change the way they grow over time.
2. Alignment and Bite Problems: Continuous thumb-sucking can put pressure on the front teeth and the upper or lower jaw, leading to tooth misalignment. Over time, this can result in an ‘open bite,’ where the front teeth no longer touch when the mouth is closed, or an ‘overbite,’ where the upper teeth are way ahead of the bottom ones. Both conditions can affect your child’s bite and may require braces or other dental treatments in the future.
3. Speech Problems: Thumbsucking can change the shape of your child’s mouth and teeth, making it hard for them to pronounce certain sounds. This might lead to speech difficulties, like lisping or trouble saying certain words clearly.
4. Palate Changes: It can even affect the roof of your child’s mouth, called the palate, leading to speech problems and how their teeth come together when they bite down.
What Impact Does Thumb Sucking Has on My Child’s Oral Health?
Although thumb sucking is a common habit in kids, it can greatly affect their teeth and mouth. Your child’s teeth might not grow in line properly or have an over or open bite. Also, it can cause gum disease and tooth decay.
If you’re worried about how thumb sucking is affecting your child’s teeth, talk to your dental expert immediately. They can help you make them stop. But if they keep sucking their thumb, they might need more help from the dentist.
When to Be Concerned
The American Dental Association (ADA) suggests that most children stop thumb-sucking between the ages of 2 and 4. The habit might become problematic when permanent teeth are ready to erupt, resulting in the issues mentioned. Generally, if your child stops thumb-sucking before the age of five, there’s less chance of permanent damage to their teeth or jaw.
Tips to Help Stop Thumb Sucking in Children
You will mostly find kids sucking their thumbs or fingers, but this habit can badly affect their teeth. Here are some ways to help them stop:
1. Give them praise or rewards when they don’t suck their thumb. Figure out what works best for your child – maybe they like hearing when you praise them, or perhaps they prefer getting some kind of surprise for doing a good job.
2. Plan a fun outing if they go without sucking their thumb for a certain number of days. Appreciate them for their success.
3. Set a time limit, like no thumb-sucking an hour before bedtime. Small goals can lead to longer times without sucking their thumb.
4. When they start sucking their thumb, distract them with other activities or comforting things like a stuffed animal or blanket.
5. Create a calm and safe place at home to help reduce stress, which might make them want to suck their thumb less.
6. Figure out what makes them want to suck their thumb and try to avoid those triggers or find other things they can do instead.
7. Remind them gently to stop sucking their thumb whenever you notice it happening.
8. Try to gradually reduce how much they suck their thumb, especially during times when they do it the most.
9. Be patient with them – they might not understand why sucking their thumb is bad, so don’t scare them with the consequences. Instead, try to figure out why they do it and help them find other ways to feel better.
10 Use positive reinforcement whenever you can. Young children respond better to rewards than punishments.
Help Your Children Quit Thumb Sucking with University Ave Dental
Thumb sucking is common in young kids, but it can cause problems if it keeps going past age five. Parents need to know the risks and get help from the professionals.
At University Ave Dental, we understand the importance of maintaining good dental health in children. Therefore, our top pediatric dental professionals specialize in caring for children’s teeth and offer families a fun and welcoming environment. Our advanced technology also ensures safe and comfortable treatments. If you’re worried about your young one’s thumb sucking affecting their teeth, book your child’s appointment with us today! Remember, with family support, kids can learn good teeth-care habits.