I don,t know what to do about my ds's tongue sucking and hair twirling

[lostittoday]

Hi
He has been doing this since he was 6 months old and he is coming up to 8.
I keep asking him not to do it but he gets really upset about it.
The dentist has said that its not a good thing now his adult teeth are starting to come through as it could push them out of alignment.
In fact two of his bottom adult teeth are a bit loose not sure if its because they are not established but I am convinced that its due to the continual pushing of the tongue back and forwards.
I am not even sure if this behaviour is normal as at the same time he tries to play with my hair while he is sucking his tongue.
He tends to do both if he is tired relaxed bored.
Its driving me nuts but the tongue sucking is what worries me the most because of his teeth.
My dentist has said that he may need a special plate fitted to try and prevent him from uscking the tongue but he is awaiting a second opinion on this as he is unsure if he would be too young for it.
I am not even sure if my ds would get along with something like that either.
Please has anybody experienced anything similar wiht their dc.
The hair twirling is also a nightmare and I find myself getting agitated withhim on that and the sound of him sucking his tongue why he is doing it.
He gets pieces of my hair and twirls and twirls it around his fingers.
I cannot get him out of either of these habits.

Tongue sucking? not thumb sucking?, this is a bit unusuall. I think it'll be hard to get him to stop now. My brother still sucked his thumb at 11. He made the skin on his thumb crack and become really sore, he also had to have a brace. My Mum tried that nail stuff that tastes horrible, but that didn't stop him. I think he eventually grew out of it. (with a bit of help from pier pressure)
I would sugest just ignoring the hair twirling for now as it's not as important as the toungue thing. When he stops the tounge thing, you might find that he hair twirls more. He will grow out of both eventually though. I'd have a word with the doctor or health visitor to see if they have any tips. Good Luck.

my nephew did the hair twirling thing and it was what he did when he was being breast fed. he kept fiddling with his hair till he was about 8 and had several bald patches.

because my own children don't do it i'm not sure what to advise but the hair twirling sounds harmless, its all comfort things. my ds1 is 4.5 and has always had a thing for tags on clothes (the care labels) so he fishes up his tops down his trousers for them and rubs them...doesn't bother me, it can look a bit peculiar but no harm....i have my glass of wine to relax and no ones going to stop me!! (apart from a baby bump..bah)