We recognize that sucking is actually a natural behavioral instinct which babies and also small children have. They might make use of fingers, pacifiers, or other objects for this purpose. It especially calms down small children before going to sleep as well as it makes them feel good as well as secure during this time. However, this can result in really serious issues in jaw development as well as in teeth positioning if the thumb sucking continues even after the appearance of permanent teeth. Depending on how serious and regular the sucking is, this can lead to minor or maybe more serious dental and also jaw conditions that can be corrected by orthodontic treatment. Early orthodontic treatment might be done by a pediatric dentist to prevent jaw problems and further malpositioning of teeth in young children.
Normally, kids cease this practice naturally within ages of two and four. Using pacifiers will likely not protect against damage that thumb sucking could cause. The impact is nearly the same. The one main difference would be that sucking with pacifier may be controlled unlike thumb sucking. It would be ideal to seek the advice of your pediatric dentist for early orthodontic treatment options that can help your child when the thumb sucking persists and also if it happens to be extreme.
Because little ones commonly suck their fingers and thumb the moment they feel insecure, attempt to understand and find the cause of the anxiety and eliminate it. It is likely that the sucking will cease if this problem is removed. It could also be a very good practice to reward the young children when they are not sucking, mainly during some difficult times or stressful moments for them (while being separated from parents for any quick period of time, for instance). When going to your pediatric dentist, he really should motivate your child to stop sucking as well as endeavor to explain to him in easy terms exactly what could possibly happen to him if he keeps with this particular practice and what treatments might be needed. When the preceding ideas do not work, you may also try bandaging the thumb or putting a sock on the hand at nighttime to keep the little one from sucking.
If this habit doesn’t stop prior to the appearance of permanent front teeth, the consequences could cause bad bite and malpositioning of the permanent teeth (particularly the front teeth) causing them to protrude which, subsequently, can result in additional damage to your child’s oral health. Check with your pediatric dentist on what the recommended early orthodontic treatment would be to remedy your kid’s thumb sucking if it persists and is intense in nature.
Tags: orthodontics
