Thumb-sucking Is Already Effecting 24 Month Old Baby Teeth, Any Suggestions?

I have a seven year old daughter who sucked her thumb until she was 5 1/2. I tried several things to get her to stop but to no avail. Her dentist kept telling me to leave her alone that she would stop on her own and as long as she did not have permanent teeth yet that the dental thing was not an issue. It worked. We left her alone and one month into kindergarten we noticed we were seeing less of the thumb sucking and asked her about it. She informed us she quit and that was the end. I wouldn't worry yet and if you can't help it, find a pediatric dentist and ask their opinion. By the way, she saw her dentist from 9 months on so he was aware of the situation the whole time. And today she has several permanent teeth, none of which are "damaged" from the thumb sucking. Good Luck!

I am not a dental health provider. If you haven't already consulted a trusted dentist, you may want to consider doing so. I started taking my kids to the dentist at 2yo. They counted their teeth, took a quick look around, played with the water jet, got a new toothbrush, etc. It was a great introduction to the dentist and they were never afraid of going. It would be a great time to talk about this issue.

My daughter was a big thumbsucker, starting en utero. I didn't worry about it too much until she got her permanent teeth. My strategy worked, but she was much older, I'm not sure it would work with a 2 yo.

It's always been my understanding that there is no real advantage of a pacifier over a thumb as far as teeth goes. Neither of my kids ever took a pacifier.

your son sounds like mine. those thumb suckers seem to be the sensitive, "obedient", sweet ones! i would definitely ask your dentist first of all. like some other ladies said, i have also heard that thumbsucking won't affect the teeth until the "grownup" teeth start coming in. i would definitely check it out - since he's mainly doing it at night he's not hurting anything. i wouldn't worry (unless the dentist says to) until he's in gradeschool and doing it during class! (-from a former thumbsucker)

have you tried using a bottle when you put him to bed? or have you weaned him from that? I was a thumb sucker and would rub fuzz from a stuffed animal under my nose until 1st grade. It did not effect my teeth. Ask your dentist for some ideas. Cinnamon is great to use, because it is bitter. Try it during the day. If you can get it stop during the day, then maybe he will stop at night eventually. Good luck.

My oldest daughter was a utero thumb sucker as well as outside from birth. When she was in Kindergarten we put Hoof Stop the Bite on her nails, it is a polish and doesn't rub off. We had to do it to both thumbs cuz when she couldn't suck her left thumb, she'd suck the right one. She also, would unconciously suck when she was tired or in her sleep. It actually took several months but we were persistant, because we didn't want her to have the whole mouth problem. She did go from thumb sucking to biting her fingernails. When she was 9 we used the Hoof Stop the Bite again. Well, she is no longer a nail biter or a thumb sucker. Persistance is the key.
She doesn't have any teeth challenges, except for the one she knocked out when she hit a tree sledding, but that is a whole story in its self. Most teeth problems are hereditary. If you or your husband had braces then your kids could also. I had braces and my husband didn't (and he was a thumb sucker). My oldest may not need them and my youngest most likely will, she was a paci baby until she was 2 1/2. Try the Hoof Stop the Bite (walmart), but don't worry to much about it. My oldest didn't completely stop until she was almost 6 or 7. And that was just at night unconciously doing it. She is 11 now and doesn't suck her thumb or bite her nails anymore. Good luck and God Bless.

My neice had this problem and they used tape to tape her thunmb every night. For me, my parents put socks on my hands and used duct tape to keep me from taking them off at night. Both ways were highly effective. I highly disagree that you should let them go until age three. If he needs security- but him a special blanket or something. I think you should stop the habit as soon as you can because the longer the habit the harder it is to break. Good Luck!

One thing to try is vanilla extract. It was very helpful with getting my friend's sister to quit smoking. To keep him from rubbing it in his eye maybe try putting it on his thumb right before he goes to bed so when he automatically sticks his thumb in his mouth he'll pull it right back out again. but because he's so much younget than my friend's sister maybe have a pacifier on statndby with something sweet on it like fruit juice or something pleasant so he starts to free associate the paci with something happy and the thumb with bitter. The full association should take about a week or so but keep an eye out he could have a lapse and go right back to the thumb. It just takes time then you should be able to just give him the paci at bed time and he should be content with that and maybe someday with nothing at all. If you want to look up the idea in most any psych book its called Conditioned Response. If he winds up having a lapse its called Spontaneous Recovery. (I was a minor in Psychology while I was in colege). I hope this helps.

our son is thumbsucker too and he is 4. All the articles I've read say try this and try that, but overall do in a positive manner and if none of it works then let him stop on his own. His teeth were a concern, but after seeing the dentist he has assured me there is nothing to worry about. I would talk to your dentist and get his professional opinion on the teeth if that is your concern. If you're worried about him rubbing his eyes with something you put on his thumb, I remember seeing a contraption that looked like a thumb guard so the child couldn't suck his/her thumb. I don't know what is was called or the makers of it, but you could probably search online.

good luck

Don't worry about it at all. Crooked teeth are due to heredity. Most dentists now will tell you it is not an issue for the teeth. Especially for a child like yours who isn't a 24 hour thumb sucker.