Eliminate A Thumb Sucking Habit With A Children's Dentist In Brecksville OH

If you have a child who sucks his or her thumb and you are concerned that the habit may become damaging to your child's teeth, you may want to consider consulting a Children's Dentist in Brecksville OH about the problem. If your child still uses a pacifier, or sucks his or her fingers or thumb, it may not necessarily be damaging to their dental health, but expressing your concerns to a pediatric dentist is the best way to make sure.

For children, sucking their thumbs or on pacifiers may serve as an effective way for the child to self-soothe. However, it can become an unhealthy and damaging habit if allowed for too long. Children should discontinue the habit by the age of three to prevent damage to their sensitive teeth. If a qualified Children's Dentist in Brecksville OH determines that your child's oral health is in jeopardy because of his or her thumb sucking or pacifier habit, a mouth guard might become necessary.  

If you are concerned about your child's thumb sucking habit and want to avoid it getting out of control, there are some things that you can do to get your child to kick the habit naturally. Although it is not likely to be recommended by a Children's Dentist in Brecksville OH, and is discouraged by the American Dental Association, some parents put bitter substances on their children's fingers and thumbs to discourage them from thumb sucking.

Behavioral training may be a more effective method of training your child to quit thumb sucking or to toss the pacifier. Because positive reinforcement is generally a more effective method of behavior training, parents can eliminate a child's sucking habit quicker if they praise children for not sucking their thumb or a pacifier rather than scolding the child when they are sucking.

Perhaps the first step in getting your child to give up a pacifier or thumb sucking habit is to figure out why the child is participating in the behavior to begin with. If you are able to figure out what is motivating the behavior in the first place, you may be able to then replace the behavior with something else. For example, if the child instinctively sucks his or her thumb when he or she needs to feel comfort, you can recognize when the child is feeling scared or anxious and comfort him another way. If you are still unable to prevent the child from sucking his or her thumb or pacifier, throwing out the pacifier, or bandaging the thumb or placing a sock or glove over the hand may be used only as a last resort.