It may be surprising, but as many as 90% of children under the age of 4 regularly suck their thumb — chances are, you did it as a child, too! Sucking is a completely natural instinct that all children are born with, which often turns into a soothing behavior when they are hungry, bored, stressed, anxious, tired, or for many other reasons. This kind of behavior also isn’t limited to the thumb: a child might suck on their hand, another finger, or even a part of a blanket or soft toy.
Since babies and young children have a limited capacity to express their feelings, this kind of self-soothing behavior can be a way to make themselves feel calm and safe. However, issues can begin to crop up once a child continues thumb-sucking once the teeth begin to come in, usually around age 5 or so.
First and foremost, thumb sucking can cause the teeth to grow in crooked and misaligned. Since the thumb takes up room in the front of the mouth where the top and bottom incisors grow in, those teeth, in particular, may become splayed outward, causing what’s called an open bite. An overbite or underbite could also develop, as can tongue thrust, which requires speech and physical therapy to overcome. Tongue thrust and thumb sucking can also cause a child to lisp, which will also require speech therapy.
Although it may seem inconsequential if a child’s baby teeth grow in crooked — they’ll just fall out anyway, right? — these teeth actually set the stage for the permanent adult teeth. Crooked baby teeth are much more likely to cause the adult teeth to grow in improperly, which can lead to braces at a minimum, and can even affect the development and alignment of the jaw itself and the development of the palate in the roof of the mouth.
If your child is still sucking his or her thumb when the teeth begin to come in, fear not! There are lots of ways to help your child stop or cut back gradually until the habit is broken.
First and foremost, remember never to shame or punish your child for this behavior. Sucking is a natural impulse and, as we said, it is one of the few ways a child may feel he or she can cope with difficult situations they are otherwise not prepared or capable of dealing with. If you feel that your child sucks his or her thumb because of stress or anxiety, try to find what the root cause of those emotions is and help your child find new ways to express their feelings and overcome fears by talking it out.
Often as a child gets older, they themselves may become embarrassed to suck their thumb and may want to stop on their own. At a certain point, every child wishes they were a big kid and will realize that sucking their thumb isn’t big kid behavior. You can help encourage them gently by keeping a record of each day they go without thumb sucking and offering a small reward after a successful week.
If you child is having a hard time breaking the habit, you can begin to at least cut down on the behavior by limiting times when the child may suck his or her thumb — say, only at night before bed — and limiting exposure to items like a blankie or special stuffed animal which may trigger this behavior by association. You can also try to put a band-aid over the child’s thumb to prevent them from sucking on it, and in severe cases, special mouth guards can be inserted behind the teeth that block the thumb from entering the mouth. However, this latter option may be irritating for the child to wear and has not been found to be very helpful in most cases, so it may not be something you want to try.
If you’re still having difficulties with thumb sucking, it’s a good idea to talk with both your dentist and your pediatrician for the best course of action, as well as to monitor and catch any dental abnormalities before they become severe. Be sure to involve you child and try to come up with a strategy altogether, which may help your child be more of a willing participant instead of being reluctant or hostile to giving up this comforting behavior.
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