Thumb Sucking Pushing Teeth Out

I worked for an orthodontist for many years. I was an assistant and the lab technician. I made a special appliance called a habit appliance which makes it impossible to put a thumb in to suck. Maybe wait until he is 4 or 4 and a half. It is extremely imporant that he quit by then or he may run into more complicated issues with his mouth. You can give him something else to take the place of his thumb, like a stuffed animal or a blanket. He may choose something else. I hope this helps

It is more then just his teeth you need to worry about. His palette is likely to be affected. Children who suck their thumbs are also more likely to develop a lisp.

My daughter will be 8 in Sept and while she hasn't sucked her thumb in a while, she did it for A LONG time (when she was tired).She made a chart to keep track of how many nights she didn't suck her thumb.Each night that she didn't suck her thumb, the next morning, she would put a sticker on her chart the next morning and when she got 10 stickers, she got to pick out a "treat".The thumb stuff didn't work. At bed time, I would have her go into the bathroom and get band-aids and I would put it on her thumb.We went through a few band-aids but after about 2 weeks, the habit was broke.
Good Luck

Maybe I shouldn't confess this. But I sucked my thumb for a long time (older than 4). Probably for the same reasons, and dentists told my parents the same things, and they tried a lot of things to get me to stop, including the equivalent to AA for thumbsuckers, but my teeth are fine. Of course I eventually stopped. But I have decided not to worry about it with my kids. I have a 2 year old, that prefers the pacifier to her thumb, and a 3 1/2 month old, I'm not yet sure what route he will take. Anyways, hope this helps.

C.,
I sucked my thumb for the first 7 years of my life. I actually started before I was born...Mom has an ultrasound with my thumb in my mouth. I found that it comforts me. When I finally decided to stop, I actually replaced it with nail biting. Of course I had braces, but so did my other six siblings who did not suck their thumbs. Dental work is a fact of life. I have recently stopped biting my nails and found that I needed to replace that with another habit. Gum chewing is my thing now, when I'm bored or upset. Find an alternative that he can deal with. Probably not food, but something that he can use as a distraction.

My husband and I both sucked our thumbs until we were about 5. I only stopped sucking my thumb because I broke it and had to wear a metal splint on it (that's what happens when a 5 year old tries to open one of those heavy metal doors at the junior high by herself). My husband decided on his own to stop sucking his thumb. He fared better emotionally than I did and I think it's because he decided on his own to stop sucking his thumb. I would suck my thumb whenever I was sad and crying and it helped me feel better. Now, because I didn't stop myself but had an external circumstance make me, I became a chronic nail-biter after I stopped sucking my thumb. So now I bite my fingers when I am subconciously stressed or worried about something. I think it's better for their emotional well-being to let them stop on their own.
Also, not all thumb-suckers need ortho work (I have a slight overbite, but I've never had a retainer or braces). There are also non-thumb-suckers who need more orthodontic work than thumb-suckers (case in point: my younger sister never sucked her thumb or anything else and she had a worse over-bite than I did and that's because her tongue thrust was worse than mine) - so I would say let him suck his thumb until he decides to quite on his own and risk having to fix his teeth later because you may or may not have to fix his teeth (or he may only need a retainer and not braces). As long as you know it's a possibility now that you might need to get him orthodontic work, you can start saving money every month specifically for that (and then if he ends up not needing it when he's a teenager, you can use the money for something else).

Yes, you want to help him stop this habit now. Do you want to spend 10's of $$$$ on braces later on?
My son didn't suck his thumb, he sucked his forefinger and and middle finger to the point they were growing towards his thumb at age 3. We attempted to give him a pacifier to no avail. We then had to tape his fingers together at night to help "straighten" them out - like splinting. He didn't like the splinting and we told him that if he stopped sucking on his fingers, then we could take the splint off. It was heart-renching to see him in this struggle at age three; however, he did understand if he didn't stop the sucking, his fingers would "grow" differently.

See if he'll take a pacifier. Help him deal with his emotions differently. Tell him that it's okay to cry. Comfort him more during these "stressful" episodes to let him know that you love him and help distract him from him thumb - like, "Davey. The Dentist says that sucking your thumb is hurting your teeth. Let's read a book instead!" Everytime he goes to put his thumb in his mouth, you take it back out, and remind him gently that he's a big boy and it's time to do "big boy" things, like read a book! If he's holding the book, he won't be able to suck his thumb either.

Hope this helps.

Dental problems are not the only reason to get that thumb sucking under control now. Speech problems, social problems, emotional problems are only a start. Your child is young enough that you can get it under control. In fact earlier would have been better. When your child gets too old, you will have to let him do it himself and accept whatever, he does about it. I know from experience. My daughter was ten when we finally got through the process. She had by this time endured lets of teasing had tongue thrust which caused speech problems and eating problems as well as dental problems. Start with a long tube sock. Make a cute face on it with markers or sew it on with felt or whatever. Make sure your child likes it. Better still, make two, one to wash and one to wear. put it on your child's arm up to his shoulder and pin it securely in place with several safety pins sll the way around. Make sure and talk to your child about what you are doing and why before you do it. Tell him that when he wants to suck his thumb that he can come to you and you will hold him as long as he needs you to, but that you will not take the sock off. Leave it on for three weeks, changing it and washing it as needed. If you take it off too soon all your efforts as for naught.

I am not sure what to do about your 3 1/2 year old, but I can offer a preventative measure for your 1 year old. If you are still nursing, continue as long as possible! This will help his emotional needs and help form his mouth/teeth the way nature intended.

I nursed my first child until she was almost four and am still nursing my almost three year old. Neither of them used pacifiers or sucked their thumbs. Our dentist raves about the health of their teeth and jaws!

I was a thumb sucker and needed orthodontics :)
But what was genetic and what was due to thumsucking, I don;t know.

My second boy would never take a pacifier, but started sucking his 2 fingers around 7 months old. I thought it was indearing and FINALLY my child was able to soothe himself. But at the 9 month checkup my doc (and my seasoned sister)said I should try to stop it due to likely gum mis-shaping or making him overbite.

It took less than a week to break the habit. The stuff you put on the finger/thumb is worthless. We actually covered his hand with a sock and taped it to his sleeve, so he couldn't pull off.

My 2 1/2 year old has never sucked his thumb and he STILL ended up having his teeth pushed out! He sucked a "Soothie" pacifier until he turned 1 (at which time I took it away cold turkey). I don't know if that caused it or not, but the first thing the dentist asked was "Does he suck his thumb?"

Anyway, that probably wasn't helpful information, but I'll tell you what my parents did for my sister who sucked her thumb until she was 5. They had tried those nasty tasting liquids that get rubbed on the thumbs, but she just sucked it off and kept sucking. So they put socks on her hands at bedtime, but those came off in the middle of the night. They ended up putting a cast on her thumb, just so she couldn't suck it anymore. Then she ended up sucking her left thumb instead. So they put a cast on her left thumb, too! That was the only thing that worked for her! I think that was a little drastic though.

One suggestion I have heard that works well is just to distract them with something else. Give him a toy that can be chewed on instead. Hopefully that will work. Good luck!

This comes from someone who sucked her thumb and needed lots of braces to fix the damage. None of the bitters work at all. You can try putting mittens or gloves on before going to sleep or when he gets tired. As for when he is stressed try to find something to transfer to like a stuffed toy.

R.

I hear it's hard to break the habit, but in working in a dental office I know it should be done. I think at this age things don't scar them as bad as when they get older and continue to do bad habits and trying to break them. It does more then push the teeth out (fan them), it's a strong muscle, and like other moms have said, causes a bad over bite by pushing on the roof of the mouth. To me, head gear, braces, and extensive dental work will scar him more later then working on breaking it now.

My kids sucked a binky till they were 4. After she stopped her teeth went back to normal within a month. Our dentist said not to worry about it. The permanent teeth are the ones to worry about.

Hi C.,
MY little girl is the same age and does the same thing. We just had and are in the middle of a few big life changes so I am not attempting to stop the thumb sucking right now but we have talked with her about it a little. It is amazing how smart and how much they understand, we talked about big girls not sucking their thumbs and how big sisters don't suck their thumbs and she was very open about talking about it. I plan to use the thumb guard when we are ready to take that step. I would really talk to your little boy, be open about why we need to stop and even have him work for a reward when he finally stops... a toy, or trip or something special. Good luck, and would love to hear what you decide to do and how it works :)

There are thumb guards you can by, try One Step Ahead online store, not sure where else but have him wear it at bedtime, naps and so on. There is also stuff you can put on his thumb that tastes terrible, you just have to keep repeating putting it on when he washes his hands. It is a hard habit to break and he does it unconsciencely, so just remove his thumb anytime you see him doing it without saying a word. It is like reprogramming his brain actually. When he does start catching himself and stopping tell him how proud you are of him stopping on his own and make a huge deal out of each day he stops himself. This habit among all others is very hard to break, I have seen 7th graders revert to sucking their thumbs when stressed. Not all dental issues are genetic and I have seen the damage thumb sucking and using a pacifier has done on two of my friends kids, they have HUGE overbites and it isn't genetic at all!!!!!

try everything you can to stop him offer rewards when he doesn't suck his thumb. i was a thumb sucker untill i was 7 and it runied my teeth. the only way to fix them would be extencive dental treatments. not just braces but this thing called a twin block witch is desined to correct over bites' caused by thumb sucking. thoes soultions that you put on their thumbs to make it taste bad don't realy work any way the first chance he gets to wash his hands it is gone but he will learn not to pretend it tastes bad so you don't put any more on (that is what i did) don't worrie you wond scar you son for life he might get mad now but later he will thank you. i wish my parents pushed harder for me to stop maybe my teeth wouldn't be so bad now.

I am 41 years old and sucked my thumb until I was 8. I only sucked it at night or when I was tired. I have not had any dental problems at all (not even a cavity). My 2 babies, ages 1 and 3 both suck their thumbs. I think they both will out grow it in their own time. I asked the pediatrician and she said it doesn't always cause dental problems. She also said when they start school they will be teased and will stop on their own. Not sure that will work, my 3 year old is in a ECE/Kindergarten with 3,4 and 5 year olds and there are several thumb suckers in her class. Alot of dental problems are genetic. Thats just my 2 cents. Good luck.

I worked for an orthodontist and thumb sucking can cause problems for perm teeth before they even come in. If your son is sucking hard enough he can be colapsing his palate (the roof of his mouth) which will distort his perm teeth. Start talking to him about it, remember it takes time, and try those teeth dying tabs (for brushing your teeth) chew one right before nap or bed and if his thumb is red it remind him that he sucked his thumb and he should stop. The hardest part is convincing him he wants to stop. there are lots of products you can try but the best method is just convincing them they're done.

My daughter started sucking her thumb very early in her life. She continued to 5 years of age. I had tried everything that was recommended. Nothing worked. We, too, had our dentist stressing the importance of her stopping. When all else failed we found a orofacial myologist. Her name is Sandra Coulson. She worked with my daughter and I on different exercises my daughter could do to help the thumb sucking stop and to move the teeth that she had moved out back in place. I kid you not, the exercises were fun and kid appropriate and worked! My daughter has not sucked her thumb since that first meeting. Your son is much younger than my daughter was, but maybe someone like our Sandra Coulton would be able to make it appropriate to his age. It is a very positive experience for everyone. I think the key is to wait until your son is ready for this experience, then let an expert help you make the change.

I have an almost 8 year old who was also an intense thumb sucker. Last year the dentist and orthodontist finally told us she was on the verge of doing permanent damage, so planning to fix it later is not always going to work out. After years of trying everything we heard or read about to try and break the habit, including a strap on thumb cover that was not worth the almost $100 we paid, we had to install a thumb sucking inhibitor device with the orthodontist. It is a $400 fix but seems to be working. She has to have it in at least a year to truly break the habit. We chose one that doesn't look like a torture device but has a little roller on it that sits behind her front teeth and causes her thumb to slip out if she were to try and suck. My only regret is not doing it sooner. The first week or so were a little rough, lots of whining and insisting it hurt even though the Dr. told us it for sure didn't and she would use this as a tactic to get it out, but after that except for the occasional bad day she really doesn't notice it. You have the advantage now of your son being young enough that he really won't remember the rough patches and his teeth will return to normal relatively fast. It would be less torturous to do it now than when he is older and smarter. Our insurance did cover half the cost. I would talk to your dentist or an orthodontist and see what they say about it.About scarring him for life, a little discomfort and whining as a preschooler is far less scarring than a unfixable dental deformity as a teen and young adult. Unfortunately a lot of how we identify ourselves at that age is wrapped up in our looks.

I have a neighbor who just went through this with her 5 year old and took him to a (expensive) specialist who cured it right away. If you want the number I can get it but it was like $200 the first visit. thanks, K.
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C.,

Stop the thumb sucking now. I was a thumb sucker until I was 8 (mostly bedtime sucking) and had extensive, but relatively normal orthodontic work, including extractions of four permanent bicuspids. My sister, who had off and on sucking much later through her life, has to have head gear installed to repair the damage. She's 24 now; she didn't have it done in her teenage years because she was not responsible enough to keep up with the care and maintenence of the equipment, as well as other troubles.

The point is, you don't know how long the comfort-response is going to last, the extent of the damage that will be done, or the capability of your child in the future to handle the care of treatment equipment.

As for how, well, I could tell you to tape gloves on his hands, put orajel on his thumbs to make it unpleasant to have in his mouth, or "bad teeth" scare tactics, because these were the treatments I saw my sister struggle through, but I am going to recommend AGAINST these treatments due to his age, and I just don't think they were effective.

I am going to recommend behavior therapy. It requires professional involvement, but pay hundreds now for prevention or thousands later for repair.

Does he have anything else that he loves and goes to for comfort, like a teddy bear or a blanket? If so, you could try to encourage him to use that more...I don't have much experience with thumbsuckers, but I have seen lots of kids with teeth that were pushed out because of it. I know my husband was a thumbsucker until he was about 10 or so, and he had braces FOREVER! Braces are expensive...I would work on getting him to quit thumbsucking if you are worried about the teeth. On the flip side, you are a very lucky mom to have a child who knows how to self soothe!

Everytime you see him start to put it in his mouth say OH YUCKY! and turn his attention to something else. Or find something sour or hot or something to put on his thums so it gives him a taste he dont like. That wont hurt him but he wont like the taste! Good Luck because its not like a binki that you can just slowly take away cuz they have their thumbs with them all the time!
Best of luck!

Dear C.,
I really appreciate your concerns. I had a son that at a young age fortunately was scratched by a cat and since it hurt so much, he stopped sucking on his finger.
But my daughter persisted in sucking her thumg for years. What I did was encourage her that when she was a big girl, she wouldn't want to suck her thumb. I made it a very positive statement, no guilt. I knew that would just compound the problem. I just gave her a vote of confidence.
Then I began to restrict her thumb sucking times to times when it was nap time with book reading time, time with her blanket in hand. She still enjoyed that time and didn't feel any guilt. As I kept her busy and she got older, those times to hold her blanket became fewer and fewer. When she turned 5, before she had lost her baby teeth,(she had shredded her blanket by this time)she decided to throw her blanket in the trash! I warned her that we couldn't take it out again. She was very self assured and that was that. No more thumb sucking. Period.
I know that is the way I handled it, and your son is different, but see if there are ways to make it a real positive time in his life. Sometimes we get too concerned about our children's feelings and show that concern on our face in our actions. It''s not that we shouldn't be empathetic, but sometimes we create our children's problems by our reaction. When we are self assured and confident, it influences our children and gives them the confidence that they can deal with whatever comes their way. Even if you don't have that confidence, you need to muster up your strength to create it.
You need to consider that he will have a much harder time with misshapen teeth than he will if your help him find a solution now. Scarring for life would be to have to wear braces for what seems like forever. You can find a solution. Ask your son to pray with you about it, then ask him to pray about it. Ask him what he thinks would help. Help him to find tools to cope with the stress he experiences.
It is do-able. Try also to keep his hands busy doing things. You will probably find an avenue for him...art, cooking, playing ball- don't get discouraged. I talked to my daughter for at least 2 years before she turned 5.
It sometimes is difficult to prevent future problems, but you will be much happier if you can assert yourself and help him gain the confidence he needs.
God Bless,
H. B. MOM (mother of many-9)

I have a 5 1/2 yr old who still sucks her thumb. She had stomach viruses 4 months in a row last summer! At that point, we purchased the Thumbguard. It was worn (with breaks for bathtime) for a month and then she was broken of the habit for about 2.5 months and then reverted. I tried puting the device back on, but no matter how I adjust it, she manages to get her thumb out, especially at night. We are now moving to get a device in her mouth to help. There are two reasons we are choosing to do this. First, we have been told that at this point, she is going to start being in danger of warping the top palatte in her mouth (serious problem). This is NOT just a teeth issue for chronic thumb suckers! The second reason is to avoid excessive illnesses--like last summer. No matter how much she washes her hands, her thumb is in her mouth more. My main suggestion is to start addressing it now. Telling your little one to keep it out of his mouth does not work, as I am sure you are well aware. I would try the thumbguard, but I would use it longer that what they say (you will have to purchase additional bracelets). I cannot tell you about the oral device since hers will be put in at the beginning of March. I wish we had been advised by professionals to handle it earlier. Her thumb truly is her comfort, but it is also like a five year addiction that we are trying to break.

Good luck!

There is an actual finger nail polish that is edible and you put it on your little ones finger nails and it tastes awful. therefore stopping the thumb sucking.