Thumb Sucking

Our dentists and team provide habit-breaking treatment for things that can negatively affect your child’s dental development, like thumb sucking. Receiving habit-breaking treatment in Tucson, Arizona, can help your child to avoid certain oral health issues as they grow older. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Nathan Sprenger or Dr. Andrew Stucki, call Oro Valley Pediatric Dentistry at 520-297-5900.

It is common for children under the age of 4 to develop the habit of thumb or ginger sucking. If they do not break this habit by the age of 4, it can start to negatively affect the teeth and jaw. The constant pressure pushing against the teeth when swallowing, speaking and resting can force the teeth out of alignment. The damage it can cause includes:

• Open bites — When the top and bottom teeth do not meet together in the correct position.
• Horizontal overlap — When the front teeth curve out and overlap.
• Crossbites — When the top and bottom teeth do not line up properly.

Our dentists and team offer several appliances to help break the habit of finger or thumb sucking. We will put together a treatment plan that will be most effective for your child. Appliances aside, there are multiple things you can try at home to break this habit. For example, if your child sucks their thumb out of anxiety, you may have to find the source of stress and put a stop to it.

We want to help your child break these harmful habits so they can develop a beautiful smile as they grow older. Contact us today for more information about habit breaking treatment.