Effects of Thumb-Sucking on Children’s Dental Health

Thumb sucking is a common habit in babies and toddlers, but it may be worrisome when kids continue thumb sucking past age three. Dr. Nathaniel Chan explains the potential effects of thumb sucking on children’s dental health.

You may have heard that it’s recommended to wean children off of pacifiers and thumb sucking when they hit their toddler years, and there’s a good reason.

The effects of thumbsucking on teeth may be long-lasting and problematic to children’s oral health.

Today, we will take a closer look at the thumb-sucking effects and some ways to help curb toddler thumb-sucking.

Effect of Thumbsucking on Teeth

Thumbsucking in babies is typically not problematic. However, as kids age, it may contribute to oral health concerns. Actively sucking the thumb may damage the primary teeth. While this damage does not always impact the permanent “adult” teeth, it may affect misalignment.

Children may face damage to teeth from thumbsucking, including misalignment. What we commonly see is an “open bite”, meaning the top and bottom teeth don’t touch even when the mouth is closed. Another potential outcome is an overbite when the front teeth overlap the bottom tooth by too much.

Thumbsucking effects may also affect facial development. The jaw and facial muscle development may be influenced by the sucking motion, potentially affecting the facial structure. This may impact appearance, but may also impair speech.

How to Help Reduce Toddler Thumb Sucking

Ideally, children should consider stopping sucking their thumbs by age four at the latest. If you’re still addressing toddler thumbsucking, do not panic. Breaking the habit takes time and patience. Here are a few tips that may help:

• Talk about the potential concerns of this habit (in a way your child understands).
• Provide another form of comfort, like a special blanket or stuffed animal to hold.
• Use positive reinforcement to reward not thumbsucking for a certain period of time.
• Try an age-appropriate “fidget spinner”, stress ball, etc for distraction.
• Use (safe) bad-tasting nail polish to help discourage the habit.

Children’s Dentist Norwell

Are you worried about the effect of thumbsucking on teeth? Struggling to help your child reduce the habit? Dr. Nathaniel Chan, our children’s dentist in Norwell, is here to help you with all of your child’s oral health needs. We can assess your child’s mouth to determine if they may have any damage to teeth from thumbsucking, and we can also provide many helpful tips and tools for pediatric oral health. Schedule your appointment with the Advanced Dental Arts children’s dentist in Quincy today!
Read this blog to understand pulpectomy in children- What is a Pulpectomy Treatment for Children.