My 6-year-old still sucks her thumb.

Is this hurting her teeth and any advice to help her stop?

 
A common question we often get is about older kids and thumb sucking. Parents want to know how much it’s hurting their child’s teeth and how can they can help their child to stop.

Sucking on a thumb or finger is normal for infants and young children and most children stop on their own. However, if a child doesn’t stop on their own, we do advise parents to discourage the habit ideally after age 3. After the age of 3, it becomes harder to quit, your child is less responsive to your encouragement and damage is being done to permanent teeth that have started coming in. Prolonged thumb sucking can lead to crooked teeth and bite problems affecting both baby teeth and permanent teeth; permanent teeth that have already come in as well as teeth that are still developing. It causes upper front teeth to tip outward, lower teeth to tip backward and the upper jaw to narrow in the back.

When helping your child to kick the habit, be sure to use a positive approach and focus on praising your child when they are NOT sucking their thumb. Initially, to help them ease out of the habit, you can limit the time and location thumb sucking occurs, for example only at home or only while the child is in their bedroom. For older kids, if praise alone isn’t quite enough, you could offer a small reward for going the day without sucking their thumb. The reward could be points earned towards a favorite activity or toy.

Feel free to speak with Dr. Dunne about specific tips to help your child stop the thumb sucking habit. He can offer advice and make recommendations based on your child’s demeanor and explain the effects on teeth to your child in an appropriate manner during your regular check-ups. Often, this advice, along with support from parents, enables many children to quit.