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Is thumb sucking harmful?

It can cause problems with both the growth and alignment of your teeth. It can also cause changes in the shape of the roof of your mouth. Intensive thumb sucking will cause more severe problems than passive resting of the thumb in the mouth and must be treated accordingly.

When should thumb sucking stop?

When the adult teeth are ready to appear, thumb sucking should have stopped. Usually it stops between the ages of about 2 to 4 years.

Adult Thumb Sucking

Thumb sucking is a completely natural behaviour for most babies. It's the result of a natural instinct that compels new born babies to suck in order to get milk from their mother. In fact, some babies even start it in the womb. Some infants do it only occasionally and stop at a very young age, while others continue into early childhood. Adult thumb sucking is much less common, and usually happens simply because the natural habit has never been broken.

The reasons for adult thumb sucking vary, but most do it simply out of habit. Because they didn't stop as children, their behaviour became more ingrained and harder to quit over time. Some people also get a strong sense of calmness and a soothing relief from sucking their thumbs, as a smoker might do from smoking a cigarette. It is often used as a coping mechanism for stress, occurring more frequently during difficult periods of life. Some use it as a sort of natural sleep aid.

The side effects of adult thumb sucking

There are no serious medical concerns associated with thumb sucking until a child reaches between six and eight years of age. But when the adult teeth appear, it can potentially lead to dental malformations such as a cross bite or bucked teeth and these problems may range from mild to very severe. Whether the problems occur or not however, is dependent on how much pressure there is on the teeth during the thumb sucking as well as how long and how frequently it's done.

If you are having problems with your teeth due to thumb sucking, our dental team are here to help. We have dealt with many similar cases and are on hand to answer any questions you may have, along with some suggestions on what kind of treatments may help your personal dental issues.