Ok so they get to 18monts/ 2years old and the dummy fairy comes and bye bye Da-da!... usually this is the case for most children but when my Annie 4yrs started school she also started to suck her thumb!?
tiredness?
bad habbit?
The bottom line is i didn't want her teeth to stick out! :( Being a full time working mum I'm not there all the time to keep on top of it.
There are loads of techniques out there to encourage them to stop this. Things you an buy on amazon to put over kids thumbs and nail varnishes but i wasn't keen. The guidelines and checks on these things were vague if any at all. I like to be careful as what ever I chose to us would be going into my daughters mouth!
A friend recommended Dr Yaz Nafa at Premier orthodontics in Bromley.
Her 7yr old daughter didn't suck her thumb but had a removable brace to stop her tongue from pushing against the front teeth (which was making them gappy). After 8 months amazing results. He teeth were much better!
Amazing! child orthodontics from 4 yrs? NOT fixed braces.
They gave Annie a trainer to put in her mouth instead of her thumb when she needed it. A kind of gum shield that you cant see when she has it in that she can have in her mouth instead of her thumb. This will stop the habit, stop her teeth from sticking out and encourages her lower jaw to grow correctly. There's loads on their website about it...
www.premierorthodontics.co.uk/children/thumb-sucking
An hour or so after school does it for us but i have been told she can use it as much as she needs, bedtime or even over night.
Dr Nafa and the team are great! Annie got a book and some goodies as reward for going in to see Yaz and has been promised a special gift after a year if she can show them that she no longer needs her thumb or the trainer. (bribery? it seems to be working)
Yaz will see her over the next year to make sure her teeth are growing in OK as part of premier orthodontics kids club. Overall the whole ordeal was very positive - rather than the dentist giving Annie a telling off for something she didn't even realise she was doing most the time. Very professional.
Thumbs up! - excuse the pun. :)
Thumb sucking habit broken - Check
Teeth not sticking out anymore - check
Highly recommended!
5*