Babies have natural  sucking reflexes, which leads them to put their thumbs or fingers into the mouth, because it is soothing . Sometimes they develop a habit of thumb sucking when they’re bored, tired or anxious. Thumb sucking becomes a concern when the permanent teeth come into play. At this point the habit might begin to affect the roof of the mouth, the position of the tongue, the way the lip functions or how the teeth are positioned. The point when the parents need to become concerned is when the childs reaches the age of 3.5 years old since it may affect the speech and cause lisping, cause a “trapped lower lip” kind of swallowing, prevent the lower jaw from developing in the right direction and affect the position of  the permanent teeth.

To help the child stop the habit it is always good to use positive reinforcements. Give them reminders and possibly set targets that will help the child lose the habit. At times it important to identify the reason for sucking, like feeling more secure and trade the sucking with a cuddly animal.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about sucking or to schedule an appointment to examine the condition of the dentition .