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Original poster

Thumb sucking... Anyone not got buck teeth from this??

60 replies

Nini100 · 19/08/2014 14:14

Hi
Im being torn over thumb sucking with my second child. She is 4.5mths old and uses her thumb to go to sleep on her tummy in her cot.
She doesn't do it any other time not in car seat or buggy. She just uses motion to go go off on these occasions.

Due to hearing horror stories of thumb sucking and bad teeth and adult thumb sucking I'm trying to get her to stop.

So I'm trying to push dummy which occasionally works but at times it just stresses her out and she just plays with it and pulls it out etc.

If she continues with it I would like some ideas on how to wean off when older or any positive stories of thumb sucking as it suits at the moment but don't really want to ruin her teeth.

Many thanks

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Chennai · 19/08/2014 14:17

I wouldn't worry about it just yet. It's great that she can self-soothe and she can easily find her thumb if she wakes in the night, unlike a dummy.

I actually sucked my thumb until I was 16 (the shame!) and don't have buck teeth, if that helps.

TeaAndALemonTart · 19/08/2014 14:17

Me, my teeth are lovely and I sucked my thumb until I was 12.

My Dsis is the same.

HindsightisaMarvellousThing · 19/08/2014 14:20

I sucked my thumb like a demon till I was 12 too, all baby teeth and adult teeth are fine.

Plus, the bonus about thumb-sucking is that your thumb can't be left behind, or lost in the bed, or flung out of the car window etc.

Original poster
Nini100 · 19/08/2014 14:21

Ahhh thank you so much you are putting my mind at ease so much.
Was really worried

OP posts:
GinnelsandWhippets · 19/08/2014 14:23

I sucked my thumb till I was 12 - no buck teeth. DH sucked his thumb till about the same age - no buck teeth. I've never actually met anyone who did get buck teeth from thumbsucking. Maybe it's an urban myth?

babyboomersrock · 19/08/2014 14:24

Three of my children sucked their thumbs until they were around 10, and none has buck teeth, or dental problems.

They're now between 28 and 40.

trikken · 19/08/2014 14:24

Im 28 and I suck my thumb every night. Not even a hint of buck teeth.

trevortrevorslattery · 19/08/2014 14:24

Yep I sucked my thumb until I was about 15 and no buck teeth

PookBob · 19/08/2014 14:26

I sucked my thumb until 12yo, teeth are fine.

Kickassandlollipops · 19/08/2014 14:27

Thumb sucker till until the age of seven , until my mom convinced me one thumb was longer than the other and I would get a turned up nose like a piggy because of rubbing it with my forefinger ! My teeth are fine! Grin

Original poster
Nini100 · 19/08/2014 14:30

Love that story. Amazing

OP posts:
NinjaLeprechaun · 19/08/2014 14:42

my mom convinced me one thumb was longer than the other
I sucked my thumb until I was in my late mid teens twenties and it is definitely flatter and wider than the other thumb, but not longer. Wink
And my teeth are completely unaffected.

Subhuman · 19/08/2014 14:45

Son is 3 and sucked his thumb instead of a dummy. Only issue we've had was an infection at the side of his nail so he doesn't like sucking it now in case it gets poorly. That got him out of the habit apart from when he's fast asleep and his thumb migrates towards his mouth so we put a sock on his hand at bedtime to stop him now. Last night, I left him playing with toys in his room while I had a bath in the next room and when I got out, he'd put the sock on that hand, climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Kickassandlollipops · 19/08/2014 15:08

Mom was a genius for stuff like that, to stop us from nose picking she told us that we would get a pick nose line across the bridge of our nose and every one would know that we had been picking! Sorry off thread!

sleepyhead · 19/08/2014 15:11

I sucked my thumb til I was 12 and my teeth are very straight. Db did the same and needed braces for - fairly minor - buck teeth (which were blamed on thumb sucking) but....

  • My mum has the same teeth as db had before his braces and she didn't suck her thumb.
  • Ds1 has the same teeth as db had at his age and he also doesn't suck his thumb.
Boleh · 19/08/2014 15:15

Sorry, one on the flip side, I sucked my thumb until l was about 12, needed braces as a child to bring my teeth back in together and straightish, as soon as they took it off the teeth shifted back. Had fixed braces as a teenager and at 30 something still have a permanent wire across the back of my teeth to hold them in place.
To get me off sucking my thumb my parents tried everything - anti-nail bite paint on my thumbnail (washed off in drinking water before going to sleep), tying a cotton bag over my hand (could undo it with other hand and teeth) etc. I only stopped when I got the 1st set of braces as they were on a plate that fitted into the roof of my mouth, sucking my thumb with that in didn't feel right.
Mum has said several times she wishes she had given me a dummy when I was small - she didn't like the way they looked.

Furzella · 19/08/2014 15:17

I've always been very chilled out about it. Dd1 was a thumb sucker and her teeth are okay. However, we've just been to the dentist and been told that she needs braces, it's not bad enough to be covered on the NHS and we should expect to pay between FOUR AND FIVE GRAND to get it fixed. I've suddenly got a lot less relaxed about it with new ds.

OwlCapone · 19/08/2014 15:20

DS1's private orthodontic treatment to correct thumbsucking damage (it's not just buck teeth, it affects the jaws and chin too) cost over £3k. DDs is costing over £7k.

The orthodontist knew I had sucked my thumb as a child without even looking at my teeth.

There are always stories of how X person did Y without any problem. It doesn't mean Y is "safe".

olivo · 19/08/2014 15:32

Just back from the dentist with 7yo DD who has always been a thumb sucker. Her adult teeth are growing down incorrectly, with a gap, brought on by thumb sucking ??. She has been trying to stop but now it has been explained to her how she is causing damage, she is really trying.

I will be trying to stop DD2s habit much sooner. Sad

mismylinford · 19/08/2014 15:37

I sucked my thumb untill i was 15?? I think. My teeth are crooked on my top left from where my thumb used to be... Still fits prefect in the alignment of my teeth. Nhs wouldn't straighten them.. Dosnt bother me though i still have a nice smile

Heyho111 · 19/08/2014 18:09

Dummy's and thumb sucking are only probmatic from 2 onwards. It's not as simple as having bucked teeth. The worst case scenario is The jaw grows round the thumb/dummy and gives the appearance of bucked teeth. Jaw realignment surgery only really works. Braces help a little.
This can happen when sucking a lot throughout the day and night.
Dummies are better as you can just throw them away when you want them to stop.
It was nearly impossible to get my 3 year old to stop. What I hated more was how dirty his thumb was when he sucked it. We were in the park once he toddled in front of me squatted down and picked something up and threw it. Yep it was dog poo. I only just got to him his thumb to whip his thumb away from his mouth. !!! Disgusting.

beccajoh · 19/08/2014 18:10

I sucked my thumb into my 20s and my teeth aren't perfect but they're only a millimetre further out than they should be.

LittleLionMansMummy · 19/08/2014 18:18

I was a thumb sicker into my late teens/ early 20s. Never had a brace unlike my 2 non thumb sucking sisters. Very straight, healthy teeth and now 35!

LittleLionMansMummy · 19/08/2014 18:18

sucker

stayathomegardener · 19/08/2014 18:19

I thumb sucked. Buck teeth,misaligned jaw,very high palate,breathing not great,bump in nose and one short flat thumb......
Not worth the risk,cost thousands to sort me out. DD was given a dummy asap.