Comments on: Thumb Sucking: Breaking the Habit

By: Delaney

Delaney — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:43:48 +0000

i had 2 thumb suckers and i told both of them when they wanted to suck, tap their laps in a rythem and the one with the best rythom would get a reward of their favorite thing. i hope this works for you too

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:14:09 +0000

Try Thumbuddy To Love…it is for 3-6 year old thumb suckers. You can get it on Amazon or on thier website….

By: Janene

Janene — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:01:39 +0000

Hi,
I thought my son was going to suck his thumb until he was a grown-up!
We tried everything…then we told him if we caught him sucking his thumb anytime during the day, he wouldn't get any dessert! It WORKED! (Sometimes we don't even eat dessert, but he doesn't remember and has now stopped that yechhy habit!

By: Jane Koble

Jane Koble — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:23:18 +0000

We had an agressive thumb sucker until 1st grade. She was good about stopping during the day (finally), but did it at night without knowing it. We did the orthodontist thing and he installed a "bluegrass" device, which was step one in correcting the damage it did to the roof of her mouth and get her to stop sucking her thumb, or just making that sucking motion at night. After NINE months of that device, he then installed a regular device that we had to turn to reshape her palate. Her teeth are GREAT now, but we're probably looking at braces in late elementary. I HIGHLY recommend the bluegrass device EARLY. It works, it's not too expensive, and early intervention is the best before the real damage sets in and kids start REALLY noticing the device in her mouth.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:39:39 +0000

One of my friends daughter had this problem. It occurred mainly at night, so she designed a cover for the finger she sucked out of fabric and velcro and insisted she wear it at night. When she went to suck her finger and the fabric was there it wasn't appealing. I don't know how she designed it, but it worked

By: Karen L

Karen L — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:51:18 +0000

Personally, I see thumb and finger sucking as a self comforting habit, and don't believe in punitive measures for it. I sucked my thumb till age 9 and never needed braces. Our son sucked his thumb till about 6 yrs old and is the only one of our children who didn't need braces!
I asked my dentist about thumbsucking and he poo-poo'd it as a cause for orthodontia, said genetics is the cause 99% of the time.
However, that being said, I think that the same special treat that broke me of nail biting might work for girls who suck their thumbs.
When I had gone 2 weeks without biting my nails, I got to have a professional manicure (complete with hand and forearm massage) and painted fingernails (something previous linked to turning age 13 in our family).

By: alotalot

alotalot — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:45:18 +0000

My niece had the appliance and it was no big deal. It was trickier to brush, and I know that some people use electric toothbrushes because it does help to get the teeth cleaner than a regular one. It may also help to solve (2 of) your toothbrush problems!

As for the appliance, I know that many are installed and aren't removable, but I wear a bruxism appliance to help me stop griding my teeth at night (love it!) and my two tips for you if the appliances are the in-and-out kind would be:
*Don't put it boiling water, no matter how sick you have been and no matter how badly you want to kill germs. It will warp it a bit. Or a lot. Yes, I learned from experience.
*Use denture cleaning tablets, not the expensive appliance cleaning tablets.

By: Jennfier

Jennfier — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:21:21 +0000

My daughter has struggled with this very same thing and, in trying to find a solution, I discovered this little tidbit. If the child wants to stop, but puts fingers in her mouth while drowsy or sleeping, it was suggested that you use an Ace bandage wrapped loosely, but securely, around the elbow of the offending arm so that the thumb cannot be held in the mouth without intent. My daughter didn't want to stop so this didn't work out for us. We just found elastic bandages all over the floor and bed the next morning. Hope you find the answer that you're looking for!

By: Bonnie Baker

Bonnie Baker — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:02:44 +0000

My oldest sucked her thumb until we had the appliance put in when she was 4. She stopped sucking the day it went in. I would say just get the appliance, mine needed it to expand her palate (visually we couldnt even tell, her teeth looked straight to us) she is now 11 and has beautiful teeth. She wears braces but not to straighten her teeth, it is to straighten out a misaligned jaw.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:22:02 +0000

i feel your pain on this one and wish i had the cure all but they way i got my daughter to stop wasnt me at all, she got very sick and had to go on breathing treatments for 3 days and afterwards, no thumb sucking, i was shocked!

my friend who is an orthodontist said to put pop-cycle sticks on the hands at night or gloves. seems like you could poke an eye out but she says it works with a lot of her patients.