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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to query £1200 for an appliance to stop a 10 yr old sucking her thumb?

53 replies

itmightwork · 30/08/2014 20:44

Just that. After an orthodontic appointment I have been recommended to spend that amount on a night-time appliance for my daughter so that her bottom jaw develops normally.

OP posts:
maddening · 30/08/2014 22:17

How does the gadget you've been quoted for compare to the thumb guard that has been linked?

Notso · 30/08/2014 22:22

It seems a massive amount of money if it won't actually correct anything.

I sucked my thumb from birth until 8, then stopped for nearly a year but started again when we moved to a new town and carried on until I was pg with DD at 19.
Despite the dentist suggesting otherwise when I was little my are fine in fact my bite is near perfect.
My jaw has got clicky as I've got older and if I open my mouth too wide it can get stuck open, but my sister and all my Dads sisters have the exactly the same and only one of them was a thumb sucker and only as a small baby.

whats4teamum · 30/08/2014 22:41

I was a thumb sucker until about 10 and never had orthodontics.

My children had (sharp intake of breath) dummies. Dummies were mysteriously lost and no thumb used. They have both been subject to extensive orthodontic treatment , braces and surgery. We have overcrowding issues.

The thumb isn't a massive issue in the grand scheme.

Shallan · 30/08/2014 22:45

I sucked my thumb when I was little, only when I was asleep, not consciously. My mum used to put me to bed with mittens on - the kind where they're connected with strings, which went through my pyjamas and down the sleeves if that makes sense? I couldn't them off without trying to, which I didn't do while asleep, so it broke the habit.

Might be worth a try before spending so much money?

SierpinskiNumber · 30/08/2014 22:50

How about offering you DD £600 to stop sucking her thumb. She might suddenly find she has the motivation to stop Grin Wink

I'm not entirely sure I'm joking...

OwlCapone · 30/08/2014 22:55

DCs orthodontist recommended long football socks put on both arms under PJs. Somewhat cheaper than £1200.

I reckon a pair of tights put on like a "shrug" under PJs would work.

DwellsUndertheSink · 30/08/2014 22:55

Try getting some of those hairy plasters - the ones that come on a roll. Put plasters on both thumbs at night. Just to remind her not to suck her thumb. And offer a reward for not sucking thumb - the toy/game that she covets. Once she has gone a week without thumb sucking, she can have the desired object.

This worked with both my kids.

DwellsUndertheSink · 30/08/2014 22:57

(hairy plaster = Elastoplast Adhesive Tape )

mummymeister · 30/08/2014 23:03

MY DD used to suck and bite her thumb so hard that she bit down to the bone and had massive callouses, infections etc. at 9 the dentist showed her the instruments he used for taking out teeth when he fitted braces to people with misaligned jaws. it made her go a bit green but when she got home she was determined. we bought a pair of mohair gloves. I made sure they were well fitting. dd hated the wool in her mouth and after about 6 weeks and a couple of pairs of gloves she stopped. still has misshapen thumb and now gets joint pain in it.

Pico2 · 30/08/2014 23:28

I'm really glad that DD stopped when she did as it only cost us a few packs of plasters and a £3 Barbie mermaid. The older they get, the wiser they are to the value of money!

My jaw clicks and I had £'000s of orthodontics, though I never sucked my thumb. I'd guess we are in for the same for DD even though she stopped sucking her thumb.

Eastpoint · 31/08/2014 07:22

My daughter told us she'd stopped sucking her thumb, she didn't have noticeable calluses so we believed her, it was only after she really had stopped she confessed. Dd1 & DS both stopped before they started school or possibly even nursery school. She would have needed a brace anyway as her teeth have also come in peculiarly. Poor thing also has some adult teeth with insufficient enamel so they came through rotten.

PunkrockerGirl · 31/08/2014 07:45

I sucked my thumb till I was 13 (at night). No harm done, no orthodontics needed.

iamdivergent · 31/08/2014 08:12

I managed the whole night here - had a hair plaster around my thumb so that did the job!

Blueuggboots · 31/08/2014 08:12

I sucked my thumb until I was 21 - I did have braces but it wasn't because I was "goofy" due to thumb sucking, it was because I didn't have enough room in my mouth for my teeth.
Please remember there are many other reasons why teeth are not well aligned, and thumb sucking was my comfort.

OwlCapone · 31/08/2014 08:18

I did have braces but it wasn't because I was "goofy" due to thumb sucking, it was because I didn't have enough room in my mouth for my teeth.

The fact that you had your thumb in your mouth and your mouth wasn't closed with jaws together is one of the causes of not having enough room in your mouth for your teeth. Your tongue also plays a big part in making sure the teeth have room and if it's not in the right position, it won't do the job.

Of course, sitting gormlessly staring at the TV with a slack open mouth will have a similar effect - there are many causes of wonky teeth.

OwlCapone · 31/08/2014 08:22

Why do other mammals and the vast majority of people living outside of the "developed world" have lovely straight teeth I wonder?

Rubbishcook60 · 31/08/2014 09:38

My 4 year old son has a horrendous overbite and we've been repeatedly questioned by our incredulous dentist about thumb sucking habits, dummies etc.
He's honestly never had either (well we once gave him a dummy at 6 weeks in an attempt to settle him after a bad night, but he rejected it) He was breastfed, never had a bottle etc. The dentist obviously thinks we are lying, but we aren't.
Sometimes I think it can be random bad luck.

micah · 31/08/2014 09:46

Are you in the uk? Don't children get free nhs dental treatment?

I would think if it were essential, and cost effective treatment wise, it would be available on the nhs.

Sounds like those helmets for flat head. Money spinner for companies playing on parental anxiety.

Pico2 · 31/08/2014 09:46

Owl - the majority of people outside the "developed world" are of different races to those in the devoted world (obviously not completely). It seems plausible to suggest that there are racial differences in jaw size and subsequent crowding of teeth.

micah · 31/08/2014 09:50

Owlcapone. Animals and people outside the developed world likely have lovely straight teeth because there's no processed western diet, or dental treatment. if you can't eat, or grind grains, meat or other food up with your misaligned teeth, you die. Natural selection. In domestic animals once their teeth go you know they are on the downhill slide, they simply can't take in adequate nutrition.

Pico2 · 31/08/2014 09:56

Thumb sucking isn't the only jaw changing activity. Mouth breathing can have a dramatic impact.

Willdoitinaminute · 31/08/2014 10:49

Habit breakers are the name for the appliance and usually cost between £200-350. I would ask for a clearer explanation of the treatment plan. You should have a written copy of the treatment plan if you haven't then I would change orthodontist.

Picturesinthefirelight · 31/08/2014 13:06

Micah - NHS dentists are very hard to find, most have huge waiting lists. Some private dentists will treat children for free as long as their parents are private patients but others charge just the same.

You can access emergency treatment but this wouldn't be classed as emergency.

Blueuggboots · 31/08/2014 15:39

Owlcapone - tongue thrust and

Blueuggboots · 31/08/2014 15:40

Whoops!
My mother also had to have orthodontic treatment but never sucked her thumb.
Genetics also plays a part.