Thumb sucking- when do you intervene?!

[Shleepymummy]

Both my children (4 & 2 yos) suck their thumbs. Both had a dummy as babies but only newborn-6 weeks and I got rid totally at the 6 week mark (think a book told me to do so I did?!) My 4 year old found her thumb at a year old. My 2 old (I suspect) sucks his thumb as he has seen his older sister doing it. Or maybe just in both their natures to do so?
For my 4 year old, when do I need to try and stop her? She has a very minor overbite, you can't see it to look at her so I'm not worried yet but I know at some point adult teeth and jaw shape will be permanent. And how do I tackle it?! Dentist advised giving her a dummy then taking it off her when ready...does that seem right?! Seemed odd to me but I get the logic I guess.
Anyone had any success and how they did it, and when? We have talked about thumb sucking and she understands it's not good for her teeth but doesn't understand long term consequence yet. If I ask her to stop sucking it, she will, but it's back in 5 mins later. She sucks it when tired, and more so when she has her muzzy (she only has that at bed time/quiet times), so I'm thinking maybe the muzzy should go first? Or should that stay to help her if I take her thumb away (how do I do that?)
Sorry for the ramble!

As a thumb sucker into adulthood (;I stopped in my mud twenties!), I'd say the best way is to help her find other ways of getting comfort or self soothing. Maybe rubbing her muzzie between thumb and fingers? Some children bloke smooth silky material to rub. Or has she got a teddy or other cuddly where she can stroke its fur? Maybe she can listen to a kids meditation or something like that. I'd give her the other tools first and get her using them and then gradually vdiscourage the thumb sucking.

I never stopped my thumb sucker. She just grew out of it some time after she started pre-school.
Shes got beautiful teeth, never needed braces.
Don’t worry too much.

I got ds, and avid thumb sucker, to stop just before 4 because the dentist wasn't happy.

I tried all the ways I saw online. Bought special thumb gloves and used the nasty nail stuff. None of it worked.

In the end I bought Elastoplast finger plasters in bulk, like 200 of them. They are long so they can't remove them easily. I wrapped his thumb all day (and night) every day for about a month. I'd have to change them frequently because of hands in food/mud/washing hands etc. So we went thought loads. But it worked.

As a parent of a now 11 year old who is facing extensive orthodontic treatment due to thumb sucking I’d say as soon as possible.

Similar to you, he only sucked it when tired and had muzzy. Being my last ‘baby’ I didn’t have the heart to take muzzy away sooner but I wish I had. He finally gave it up himself when he was about 8 or 9.

Looking back, I still don’t really have the answer, but perhaps I should have weaned it away during the day first, then tackled bedtime. Maybe I should have replaced it with a different snuggly teddy which was still comforting but without encouraging the unconscious action of the thumb going in.
I should maybe have asked the dentist to have had a stronger word too.
Im glad that his teeth can be fixed but we are waiting for the last baby teeth to drop out before we can go ahead. His front teeth are very vulnerable as sitting on his lower lip so I will be relieved when they are back in the correct position.

My thumb sucker until secondary school (when they stopped themselves) is the only child I have that didn't need braces.

The others had no dummies, no thumb but dental issues

My daughter was a thumb sucker, couldn't convince her to stop, tried various alternatives.
Went to the dentist when she was 6 and he told her that she had to stop as she was affecting the shape of her skull. She literally never sucked her thumb again.

We had a 6th form pupil who used to do this. Hope he stopped once went to uni.

Honestly I don’t know how you would stop a child sucking their thumb.

I needed braces, my son doesn’t. We both grew out of it approx the same age,

what do you do, pull their thumb out their mouths all night long?