Does your child suck their thumb or use a dummy? Did you know this can affect the development and position of their teeth and jaws?

Posted: 20 September 2011

Most babies will suck their thumb or fingers when they are very young. For different reasons parents will sometimes need to use a dummy to soothe their babies. While this is often necessary, it can have detrimental effects to the jaw development as well as teeth position the longer your child continues these habits.

Traditionally parents were told that as long as their children stopped the habit before the adult teeth came through then everything would be fine. In reality by this stage a lot of changes to the jaw and facial structure have already occurred.

A 4 year old girl who still continues to suck her thumb saw us recently. It was immediately noticed that her top jaw was narrow and that her top front teeth stuck out more that her other teeth.

At Vivid Dental, we can help you with strategies and positive reinforcement techniques to help your child to gradually give up these habits. If teeth have become crowded or the jaws are narrow or out of position, speak to us about how we can help to your child to smile and function more confidently.