How thumb sucking can affect your child’s Oral Health?

One of the habits that nearly every child develops is sucking on their thumb. It gives them a great feeling of security and comfort, especially during times of worry or anxiety; however, that puts them at the mercy of this habit in oral health if it persists into a certain age.

Thumb sucking will negatively affect oral health at different levels since it may cause dental issues such as misplaced teeth alignment, with some kind of protrusion in the front teeth and open bites that will make a child incapable of chewing or biting or even speaking well, which might make them undergo orthodontic treatment to correct these problems.

It can also lead to alteration of shape in the palate of your child or his roof mouth. This causes difficulties in breathing and impairs speech development. Third, it comes with infections coupled with sores on the thumb making it painful and ought to be checked in medical care.

So what can you do to help your child break the habit of thumb sucking and avoid these unpleasant side effects? Here are a few suggestions:

• Talk to your child: Explain to the child how thumb sucking adversely affects their oral health and encourage them to quit this bad habit.
• Distract your child: Give some toys or a book or game to distract their hands and stop sucking thumbs.
• Positive reinforcement: Let him know how good he has been about not sucking on his thumb and hail him with rewards when he continues to work well.
• Thumb guard: This is an appliance that’s laid over the thumb to discourage sucking. The child can easily break this habit.
• Get professional help: If this is hard for your child to break, he or she has to see the dentist. The dentist can guide and aid your child to break the habit of thumb sucking..

Conclusion:

Sucking an index finger is a very common habit among children, but if it is not stopped at the right time, it may cause some oral health issues. Using these tips you can break this bad habit for your child and keep away their dental problems as well as other complications. All you need to do is remind that positive reinforcement and patience are the keys to help this habit to get eradicated from your child.