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Dentist San Francisco Is Thumbsucking A Bad Habit For Your Children?

One of the most common habits that children struggle with is thumbsucking, and they can often fall asleep sucking their fingers or thumbs. This is a habit that your child may lean to for comfort so that they can fall asleep right away. Many children will stop sucking their thumb between two to four years of age, which is normally when the baby teeth will fall out and the permanent teeth will grow in. During that time, it is so important to break this thumbsucking habit before permanent teeth grow in, which will prevent long-term issues in crooked teeth and disalignment of the mouth.

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Much of the damage that could happen to your child's teeth and mouth will depend upon how intensely they normally suck their thumb. If a child were to aggressively suck their thumb, they may be more at risk for damage to their teeth than a child who just keeps their thumb in their mouth. Even though your child may protest, you must work with him or her to stop thumbsucking as quickly as possible. To begin with, it is important to start rewarding your child for being good when he or she is not sucking their thumb. This is much better than scolding them for sucking their thumb since they will be rewarded for good behavior. It is also important to comfort your child if they normally revert to thumbsucking because they are anxious. Try to get to the root cause of your child's anxiety that causes them to want to suck their thumb regularly.

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It is also a great idea to ask for your child help to break the habit. You can work together to stop the thumbsucking habit by putting socks on their hands at night or gently taping their fingers together so that they aren't tempted to suck their thumb.  This is something that you can decide with your child so that you can break the habit together as positive reinforcement. As a last resort, you may also want to talk to your dentist to ask for their support to encourage your child to stop sucking their thumb. With these methods, you should be able to easily encourage your child to stop thumbsucking for good, which will prevent disalignment in the mouth and reduce the need for braces as they grow older.

It is important to try to kick the thumbsucking habit at the time when your child's permanent teeth are growing in. If your child continues with thumbsucking, they may have permanently damaged teeth, which will have to be treated in the long term with braces when they are a teenager.  Many parents have no idea that long-term thumbsucking can cause such crookedness in the teeth, which is why it is essential to work with your child to stop this habit as quickly as possible to protect the appearance of their smile!

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