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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

ANY IDEAS WELCOME 4 A THUMB SUCKER!!!

19 replies

amy2310 · 27/02/2006 16:42

I have recently taken my DD (27 months) to the dentist and he has told me that I have got to get her out of sucking her thumb and I have tried a lot of things like plasters, mustard & the stuff that you use to stop biting your nails (which she also does) and nothing has worked. Please help me as I have people telling me so many stories that she will push her teeth forward.

Thanks

OP posts:

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cece · 27/02/2006 16:44

My dentist told me the same thing about ds but my thought is that he can have a brace to straighten them when he is older!

geekgrrl · 27/02/2006 16:45

mmh, does it really though?
My dd1 was an avid thumb sucker up to about 4 or 5 and her teeth are fine. She now only sucks when she's tired (she's 6) and I am glad I didn't press the issue too much. Her dentist said that making her give up would cause her too much stress and not to worry too much about it, and that it wouldn't necessarily affect her teeth.

LIZS · 27/02/2006 16:46

dd gave up at just over 4. She has a slight gap but the dentist has said if she stopped then it should be ok. Nothing would have persuaded her any sooner. Distraction may work , as might a sticker chart each time she isn't resorting to it.

Original poster

amy2310 · 27/02/2006 16:51

Thanks for the ideas ce ce with the brace I understand what you mean but the way I see it is with the way socity is today do I really want her wearing a brace when shes older as kids (as Im sure you no) are nasty little people sometimes and as time goes by its hetting worse!!
Geekgrrl stress isn't the word for it she went mental when I put the plasters on
Lizs a sticker chart is a great idea thanks its just night times I would need to crack with it too!!

OP posts:

cece · 27/02/2006 16:56

I just no nothing would deter ds from thumb sucking at the moment. I had a brace and tbh can't remember any abuse as such.

geekgrrl · 27/02/2006 16:57

oh, I wouldn't worry about the stigma - I do some work in a secondary school and about a third of the kids are wearing braces it seems. Don't think there's anything weird about it. Besides, there are so many reasons for needing one - I had a brace but it didn't have anything to do with thumbsucking.

SoupDragon · 27/02/2006 17:00

there's no stigma with braces any more.

But yes, thumbsucking can pull teeth forward - DS1 has done this to his top ones and pushed the lower ones back for good measure. He's 7 and I just can't stop him sucking it. I console myself that he would probably have needed braces anyway.

Piffle · 27/02/2006 17:08

dd is 3.3 yrs and I am happy to let her thumb suck as its a great source of comfort for her
FWIW she is not an aggressive sucker only really at bed time or when really tired.
Our dentist hs said her teeth look fine, to reevaluate at age 5.
my borthers and I all sucked our thumbs, my youngest bro was an aggressive sucker, all night long woth fingers hooked over his nose and he got a mishaped jaw which has caused some problems
But my other bro and I are fine!

ecj · 27/02/2006 17:47

just to add my bit I sucked my thumb for 13 yrs!!! and my teeth are fine. d.d sucks hers now and although I try to stop it when she is supposed to be talking I don't stop it otherwise. Our dentist thought it was fine...

jalopy · 27/02/2006 18:10

I think we have cracked it. My daughter has sucked her thumb since 12 weeks old. Wasn't able to stop her in her earlier years, obviously. When she reached the age of 5, she understood how bad it was for her teeth. She started to take notice what the dentist was saying. We managed to get her to stop in the day but she would pop her thumb in her mouth whilst asleep. We resorted to using a woollen glove on her hand at night. It has worked. She still wears it and hasn't sucked her thumb in about 4 months. I check her at night to be sure and it definitely works.

Gem13 · 27/02/2006 18:29

I've read that it only matters when your adult teeth are in - around age 7.

nikkie · 27/02/2006 19:42

My dd is 6 and has been listening to the dentist now, especially as she has started to lose her baby teeth. We have used the nail stuff (just on her thumb) and she has tried to stop .

Tryn2hrd · 27/02/2006 20:49

Just adding as an habitual thumb suck whos in her 20's, you really need to get her to stop before her adult teeth come in as I was always promised a brace when older but when it came to it the Dentist refused as I still sucked my thumb and it would have been pointless fitting one. My parents tried everything, from nail polish, gloves, cream the works and they all failed as it was a comfort thing to help me sleep. But I think it wasnt the sucking as I just placed the thumb in my mouth while I stoked my top lip Does she have a favourite teddy or blanket? My dd occassionally pops her thumb in but I have given her a teddy and she hugs that all night and now doesnt have her dummy as long as she has teddy. Sorry not much help but just trying to give an insight as to why we thumb suckers do what we do. Dont beat yourself up about it being a comfort thing as i was showered with affection but I was greedy for more a night when its lonely as a baby.

spidermama · 27/02/2006 20:54

I think it really depends on how the thumb is being sucked. My dd sucked her thumb until she was about four or five. She really pushed it up against the teeth day and night and, looking at photos, it was obvious she was pusing them out. She finally stopped after a trip to the dentist who told her she'd end up looking like a horse.

I had previously tried all sorts of things before but she didn;t listen to me.

Babyblue2 · 27/02/2006 22:20

Both my DD's suck their thumb. I don't think I would try and get them to stop. I did voice a concern to my dentist about older DD's front teeth slightly sticking out and she said that I wasn't to worry because as they get older the frequency of the thumbsucking would reduce. I sucked my thumb for quite some time and did have a brace whilst at primary school. Luckily for me it was one that you couldn't see. My teeth don't stick out at all. There is more of an emotional attachment to thumbsucking than there is to that of a dummy and therefore I imagine that actively trying to stop your child from sucking their thumb could certainly do more harm than good.

madchad · 27/02/2006 23:18

I suggest that you call your dentist who will undoubtedly reassure you at this very young age.

These are baby teeth. At 27 months, you may not be able to reason with DD, but you should gently keep reminding her, and use distraction methods by day where possible-hard to thumbsuck if you need two hands for something! Apart from the known things like Stop N Grow etc (NB make sure that they are okay for her age) you could try a 'big girls don't' tack as she gets older. It is a habit, and most kids grow out of it.

jalopy · 28/02/2006 08:22

Just to add. My daughter(6) is just now starting to loose her milk teeth. Her dentist encouraged her to stop as soon as possible. She not only has slightly protruding teeth but also a huge gap in the bite of the teeth caused by her thumbsucking. Not even sure a brace is going to correct that problem. That's why I'm keen to stop her habit as soon as possible.

lazycow · 01/03/2006 14:19

I would try gentle distraction during the day. My ds tend to suck his thumb when tired, bored or anxious. All of these things can be remedied and he will sometimes stop if you fix the problem though not always. I really wouldn't try to do anything about it if she sucks her thumb to go to sleep though. This age is really quite young to worry too much I think.

My dentist (who is also a good friend) has a 5 year old who sucks her thumb. She said to me the other day that before she had kids she was always telling parents to stop children sucking their thumbs, to brush their teeth for 2 minutes twice a day from when they get their first teeth.

Now she says - 'well most kids don't have problems with thumb sucking - which is actually true', and
'if you have trouble brushing their teeth -avoid too much sugar and let them chew on the brush'

Does your dentist have children? - The truth is stopping a child thumb sucking at this young age is nigh on impossible. They need to give it up themselves when they are older and make the decision themselves.

salisshe · 16/03/2007 11:25

I had a chronic thumb sucker and tried EVERYTHING. It used to drive me crazy cos I could see his teeth were starting to stick out. The problem was he did manage to stop in the day time but night time was a different story. I did the yukky tasting stuff, and socks, and sticker charts, and bribes (I mean incentives :P). I even went online and showed him what would happen to his teeth if he continued. Mean I know but I was desperate. Anyway, in my search online I found this ... www.thumbguard.com.au. It seemed kinda pricey but when I thought about how much I had already spent on stuff to try to stop it, not to mention the emotions both he and I had spent, and I was desperate. I figured it seemed the least traumatic and I could buy it from Australia so I just went ahead and bought it and OMG it worked! He only wore it at night cos day wasn?t a problem, and within a month he didn?t need or want to suck his thumb anymore. Even better I can see a difference in his teeth structure.

Now if only there was something I could buy to get rid of his other annoying habits :P

Good luck!

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