The Effects Of Thumb Sucking On Your Child’s Oral Health

We know exactly how endearing it is to see a baby peacefully sucking on his or her thumb. It’s a soothing comfort for a child, but there may also be a chance that it’s causing potential trouble for your child’s future mouth and teeth development.

The Problems Caused By Thumb Sucking

If thumb sucking goes beyond babyhood, it can cause what is known as an ‘open bite.’ This is what happens when the roof of the mouth becomes too arched. This will cause your child’s front teeth to protrude outward. Unfortunately, an open bite can cause all sorts of problems for your child’s speech and eating and will most likely result in early and costly orthodontic treatments.

Here at Auburn Family Dental, we’ve found a few ways to help you break your child of this damaging habit:

• Use a sticker chart or any other kind of reward system. You may want to start early, with hours since your child’s sucked his or her thumb and work up to days that they’ve gone without it.
• Try to minimize any stress or boredom your child may be experiencing. Experts agree that thumb sucking can be a result of these emotions.
• Put a sock or a band-aid over the thumbs during the night, to break the habit of overnight thumb sucking.
• Refrain from using negative reinforcement. This means that you should not punish your child for sucking his or her thumb. Praise them when they don’t and simply ignore it when they do.

If you have concern about your child’s thumb sucking habit, please let our staff know! We’d love to provide you with any further advice that might be helpful. To make an appointment, please contact Auburn Family Dental, located in Wichita, KS!