“I can’t get my child to stop!” so many exasperated parents proclaim.
As a Speech Pathologist my work entails looking at the physical features of the mouth, inside and out; and a super common feature i observe when it comes to children’s teeth is an over jet of the teeth, where the top teeth protrude over the bottom teeth, or an open bite (when the top and bottom teeth do not meet or overlap when biting.
Check out the image…
Open Bite
Often this can be caused by thumb sucking, using a dummy/ pacifier, or tongue thrusting. This is not to say that any child who sucks their thumb will have issues with their teeth, however they are certainly at a higher risk for issues with teeth and producing accurate speech sounds.
Thumb sucking and dummy/ pacifier use is certainly a behaviour that you will want to stop as soon as you can. The idea is to stop the habit whilst the child is still growing. This will increase the chances that the open bite can correct itself. Seeing a good paediatric dentist is strongly recommended; for they can assist in monitoring your child’s jaw, teeth development over time.
Parents often report trying “everything” to stop the thumb sucking e.g. over the counter pharmaceutical products, taping the thumb, having their child wear a glove, reminding their child constantly, etc…
My general suggestion to parents stems from behaviour management principles; whereby you want to focus your attention, and your child’s attention on what you want them to do (rather than what you don’t want them to do, by saying “get your thumb out of your mouth!” Not so helpful).
So what that means, is when you notice your child is using their hands appropriately, such as resting their hands in their lap whilst watching TV, you would praise them specifically with something such as “great hands down!”. Use motivators that are suited to your child; stickers, stamps, gaining tokens. Be creative, you know your child best!
Who else can help, if you are just over it, and out of ideas?
A Psychologist is certainly the way to go; they will help brainstorm ideas to stop the behaviour, and set realistic step by step goals.
Be patient, and know that your efforts will eventually achieve a thumb free mouth!
