Thumb habits

If your child has an oral habit and is nearing the age of 6, this is a concern to address with your dentist. It may cause changes in the development of your child’s teeth depending on the intensity, duration, and frequency of the habit. If your child practices this habit for 4-6 hours a day then teeth may begin to move. Some symptoms of active habit are an anterior open bite, facial movement of the upper incisors and lingual movement of the lower incisors and maxillary constriction. Timing of treatment is usually undertaken between ages 4 and 6.

Three treatment options are widely used depending on willingness of the child to stop the habit. First option is reminder therapy in which a bandaid is placed on the offending finger to serve as a constant reminder not to suck on the finger. It remains in place until habit is stopped. Unpleasant stimuli, like an unpleasant solution painted on the finger, also could be used to remind the child to refrain from sucking. This type of therapy may not be as effective as a neutral reminder and may be perceived as punishment. A second option of treatment is a reward system. You simply make a commitment between your child and the dentist. Your child agrees to discontinue this habit for a certain period of time and in return will receive a reward if he/she keeps this promise. The reward can be small and special enough to motivate your child. You could place stickers on a homemade calendar for each day your child has not sucked his/her thumb and at the end of the time period, the reward is presented with verbal praise for meeting the conditions of the promise.  A third option if the habit persists after trying the two other options is appliance therapy. This involves placing an appliance in the mouth that will physically discourage the habit. The two most common appliances are a palatal crib or a quad helix. The palatal crib stops a child from sucking immediately. The quad helix is an appliance that is used to widen a constricted upper arch and can also correct a crossbite.