How To Help Your Child Stop Sucking Their Thumb

It is super common for young children to have a thumb sucking habit.  Although it can be pretty cute at a young age, it could cause dental problems down the road.  Long term thumb sucking can result in negative changes in the position of your child’s teeth or the shape of their mouth.  As the top pediatric dentist in Logan, UT we have seen this before & have a couple tips to help you kick the habit before it becomes a problem!

How Thumb Sucking Can Effect Your Child’s Smile

It is reccommended that children stop sucking on their thumbs or pacifiers by the age of 3.  The sooner you are able to get them to stop the better so that you can minimize the pressure on the palate and surrounding teeth.  The longer the habit goes on can cause concerns about the positioning of the adult teeth when they grow in. Protruding front teeth, a cross bite, or open bite are all ways thumb sucking can effect their smile.  Kick the habit now so that you won’t have to worry about excess orthodontic work in the future!  Here are some of our best tips:

Positive Reinforcement

When your child is not sucking their thumb give them some positive reinforcement!  Offer encouraging words or a reward.  Try putting stickers on the calendar for everyday that they go without it or set small goals like no thumb sucking while you run errands for the day.

Look For Triggers

Does your child suck their thumb when they start to feel stressed?  If they suck their thumb as a stress response pay attention so that you can get to the real route of the problem.  Offer comfort in other ways such as a hug or words of affirmation.  

Remind Them

If your child is sucking their thumb without thinking about it offer them a gentle reminder to stop.  Sometimes they don’t even realize they are doing it and the reminder can be a lot of help!

Talk With Your Dentist

Sometimes a quick conversation with your pediatric dentist can be enough encouragement to get your child to want to stop on their own.  Dr. Kurt is always happy to help!

Wasatch Pediatric Dentistry knows that this can be a challenging process for your child and is here to help in any way we can.  Schedule an appointment with us to talk about any questions or concerns you have with thumb sucking or anything else.  We look forward to seeing your smiling face!

Schedule an appointment with a pediatric dentist in Logan, UT today!