Thumb Sucking! - Green Bay,WI

Good luck!
They give it up only when they are good and ready and some are not ready till they are 7 years old.
My son sucked his thumb for a long time and it made no difference with his teeth.
What ever dental issues he had he inherited from me.

Mine sucked her thumb until nine. Now after age 4 she never sucked it in public or at school. She only did it when tired. She would twirl her hair. Teachers be er knew she sucked it. At nine dentist told her to stop, so she did!!! I was shocked. Never had dental issues. One thing a out thumbs, you can't lose them.

I've heard that thumb sucking does not cause dental problems and that it does cause them. I think if the baby is getting comfort from it, let them do it. They are baby teeth...

my opinion only!

My question would be how does a regular doctor/pediatrician know if a kid has dental problems? His teeth may be moving, but they are baby teeth. I'd have her check with a pediatric dentist before really worrying.

My youngest (now 5) is a major thumbsucker. I have tried everything, to no avail.

The pediatrician is right about the dental issues, which has nothing to do with the teeth. It's all about the roof of the mouth that forms a different shape from the thumb, which makes the teeth protrude out. Just good protruding teeth.

I have heard of thumbsucking guards. But when you have a thumbsucker, it's a comfort/self soothing thing and the psychological aspect can be huge factor whether the child will stop or when they will stop.

It's best to go to a pediatric dentist.

I did the socks on the hands for my son, but he was almost 4. 15 months seems young for them to already be able to see issues. You say her doctor told her this? I would get a second opinion from a dentist.

I have a lot of big time dental issues, all genetic. I never sucked my thumb but have the same issues as my mother and grandmother.

My daughter sucked her thumb and at her 1st dentist appt (at 2.5 yrs old) the dentist said she could see how her mouth was developing in an undesirable shape...not the teeth, the whole mouth is effected, the palate and the jaw muscles. The dentist told me that if I could get her to stop then, she should outgrow some of the "damage." Then she had a growth spurt that changed the shape of her face and the way she pronounced the letter S. Given the genetics in my family, I wasn't gonna fool around, she was going to stop.

I used the yucky tasting nail polish. I painted her thumbs when she was sleeping because I was afraid that if I did it when she was awake she'd also think I could un-do it and that might lead to conflict between her and I that I thought would be counterproductive. One morning she woke up and her thumb didn't taste good anymore. I hugged her and let her feel sad about it.

I got it at the local drug store for $5-ish. The instructions say to paint it on weekly, but I only had to do it 1x and she was done.

Thumb sucking is self soothing, so he should be offered an alternative. Mine has a beloved blankie that she loved long before I forced the thumb issue. At the same time though, if he had a pacifier they probably would have taken it away by now too, and he'd be fine.

We also have a thumb sucker and, according to our dentist, it is not really a problem for their teeth if you can get them to stop doing it when (or just before) their permanent front teeth start coming in. Our daughter, now 6, is very amenable to rewards, etc.; things that would never have worked when she was still a baby (which is what a 15 month old is!). If it were my little one, I would relax, try to limit it to crib-time, and be glad it isn't a pacifier!