Thumb sucking habits are hard to break. As your child continues the bad habit, it can lead to worsening conditions with their oral health, including misalignment issues or potential growth hindrances for future teeth. Consider the following information about helping your child through the thumb sucking phase of their life:
– Bacteria from a child’s thumb can easily end up in their mouth when they suck their thumb, which opens a child up to a multitude of increased risks associated with poor oral hygiene and bad bacteria in their mouth.
– It is vital to build a sense of self-worth in children to boost their self-esteem and help them rely less on thumb sucking as a means of a security blanket or safety net.
– Pacifiers are just as perilous for a child’s oral health as thumb sucking can be, but pacifiers do tend to be an easier habit of ending and weaning children from.
– Thumb-sucking can stay a child’s oral health progress and slow the rate at which teeth grow in.
– Dentists can make use of unpleasant substances to wean children off thumb sucking by placing the substance on their thumbs.
– Children who suck their thumbs tend to be more likely to develop alignment issues with their teeth.
Always make time in your child’s life to visit their dentist at Jeffrey A Lowry DDS for professional cleaning, and if necessary, to book an appointment with Dr. Jeffrey Lowry for a detailed exam of your child’s oral health. You can reach our dental office in Riverside, California, by calling us at 951-263-7001. We look forward to seeing your child smile.