For almost all of us, we know infants and young children who suck their thumbs. We see them with their blankie’s or snugglie’s… you know the look, it’s cute, and it’s adorable. Parents constantly are pulling the child’s thumb out of their mouth when they take them up to bed and tuck them in at night. We want to be the best parents and worry about the damaging effects of Thumb Sucking. We have all heard horror stories and we visualize into the future as we contemplate what our beautiful young child will look like with “buck teeth!” We cringe at the thought because we know what we thought of those kids in grade school and junior high who were made fun of because of how far their teeth stuck out! None of that for our child, no way! So, we continuously remind our kids to keep their thumbs out of their mouths to no avail.
Is it really a problem to worry about? Or, is it just another thing that, “they will grow out of?”
Approximately 80%+ of infants and children suck their thumb and, while it is a bad habit that is not fun to try and break, it is not life threatening. Sucking the thumb can alter the natural shape of the arches where teeth form and ultimately can even create undesirable speech patterns. A gentle reminder is all that needs to be done during the toddler phase of growth.
If the child continues to suck their thumb as permanent teeth are erupting into the mouth, then that is another story. Gentle reminders need to change slightly. At Apple Orthodontix we have seen hundreds, even thousands of patients over the years who have had a thumb-sucking problem. In fact, at one point, our orthodontic offices advertised, looking for thumb suckers. We got all kinds of kids, teens, and yes, a number of adults!
Tune in next week as we discuss what we do for all of our patients who have a thumb-sucking problem. We have been extremely successful in treating this simple vice.
Apple Orthodontix Blog 