There is nothing unusual about seeing a toddler calmly sucking on a finger or thumb. Some people even find this rather endearing. Nevertheless, the more the child grows, the more this habit becomes unsightly and detrimental to their dental development.
Children between the ages of 0 and 4 tend to thumb sucke quite a bit. It provides a soothing mechanism for calming down, relaxing, and sleeping. According to pediatricians at children’s dentistry las vegas, ultrasound photographs of babies sucking on their thumbs can be seen even in the womb.
Having difficulty keeping your child from sucking their thumb can be challenging; we’re here to help you if this is the case. We will discuss today how you can prevent your child from sucking their thumb and how you can do that.
The thumb becomes infected when it is sucked.
Despite its seemingly harmless appearance, thumb sucking has far more harmful consequences than most people realize. Thumb sucking over a long period may cause the following conditions:
- A gap between the front teeth characterizes an open bite
- An overbite occurs when the front teeth exceed the bottom teeth
- Additionally, the child may develop a lisp or other speech impairments
Although dental treatments are available for the above conditions, they may be costly. I would suggest breaking the habit early to avoid developing these conditions.
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Getting Your Child To Stop Sucking His Thumb
You can stop your child sucking their thumbs in various ways, and thumb sucking is not permanent. Let’s start with the don’ts before getting to what to do:
- Wearing gloves, mittens, hand braces, or other objects that may impair a child’s ability to move their hands is not recommended. Children may suffer significant mental health consequences due to frustration and anxiety.
- If you want your child to stop sucking their thumb, don’t apply awful-tasting substances to their thumbs. The result could be that your child develops feelings of distrust towards you.
- Don’t argue with them if you want to stop your child from sucking their thumbs. Providing ultimatums will only encourage the child to hide their habits.
The DOs are as follows:
- Ensure your child only suckes his or her thumbs for as short a time as possible. . The best way to accomplish this is to encourage them not to suck their thumbs in public and limit the time they spend suckling their thumbs at home and bedtime.
- Come up with substitutes for the child’s habit of sucking their thumbs based on the time and situations that trigger it. Alternatively, if the child sucks their thumbs before sleeping, provide them with a cup of warm milk to relieve their anxiety.
- Provide your child with support and encouragement if they have a terrible habit. Praise your child for stopping sucking their thumb or reward them with a visual reward like a sticker if they stop sucking their thumb for a while.
- Consider consulting a dentist with a wealth of educational resources that may be more appropriate for your child. In addition, a dentist can provide you with information regarding the effects that thumb sucking may have on the child’s dental health.
Break The Thumb Sucking Habit With Us
It is usual for your child to suck their thumb, and it is instinctive for them to do so. Do not discourage them by overly stressing about it; as a matter of fact, you can probably expect them to outgrow it eventually. In any case, as long as the habit persists, you may want to seek dental help from a professional.
Kids Dentist Las Vegas has the perfect methods to stop your child from sucking their thumb. Call us at 702-454-1008, and we’ll help them break the habit.