Is thumb sucking bad for babies?

Question

thank you so much for all the advice

Answer 1

No it is not.Years ago it was frowned upon,but more doctors and psychologists realize today that it's a form of self comfort for a child.Most children outgrow it long before it causes permanent damage.If they don't there is usually too much stress in other areas of the child's life.It is very important for a baby to have an outlet.Can you imagine the stress it must cause a baby to have that source of comfort repeatedly removed from it's mouth?

Answer 2

Here's some information I found:

Is thumb sucking harmful? The American Dental Association says that thumb sucking does not cause permanent problems with the teeth or jaw line unless it is continued beyond 4 to 5 years of age. In teething babies, thumb sucking doesn't cause tooth decay. Tooth decay is caused by bacteria, not sucking. Sucking a thumb does not cause misalignment of milk teeth if the baby stops before 4 to 5 years of age. Any misalignment at this stage - up to the age of about 6 - is temporary as it affects only the milk teeth, and not the secondary.

Answer 3

Hi,It depends on the way that the baby sucks their thumb...if they put it right in this shouldn't affect their bite. If they just suck the tip then there is more likelyhood of an overbite problem later. thumb sucking can be a cleaner alternative- binkies ( called dummies in Australia) can get more germs unless highly supervised. but thumbsucking is harder to break and if already established may be impossible to trade to a binkie (some start in the womb)- l know l spent heaps of money trying to break my daughter out of it unsuccessfully. I know about the teeth thing too cos l was a thumb sucker and l didnt give up till bribed with a bike and my teeth are perfectly fine and my dentists assured me too..as for rotting thats not true either there would be increased saliva which protects teeth...further postscript- my daughter who had a great need to suck...gave up thumbsucking around 2 fairly easily by herself...and her teeth are great too.

Answer 4

Pacifiers and thumb sucking can damage a childs teeth over time. Try to limit the amount of time your child spends sucking. my brother used to suck his thumb and it used to get infected all of the time because it was constantly soggy. Our midwife told us that some babies can be described as sucky, i.e. they just like sucking, there is nothing you can do about it really, but it might be an idea to try and get them onto pacifiers (dummies) and then you can limit the amount of time they spend sucking and you don't have to worry about them picking up bugs and dirt from their fingers. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

My son sucked his thumb until he was 7. Only when he was very tired or stressed out. He is 16 and his teeth are perfect.

My step son never sucked a pacifier or a thumb. He has bucked teeth and is getting braces.

They will stop on their own, in time. Don't stress it. It is not bad for them.

Answer 6

Not if they are still young but once they have more then 4 teeth you should try to break them of the habbit it could cause there teeth to come in wrong and it could make them have the habbit so bad they they will do it until they are 7 or older it happends it happend to my friend if they want to suck on something try giving them a Binkie instead of there thumb. it will help well it may help. good luck

Answer 7

well not too bad but it is bad.get baby used ot pacifier coz when u want u can break the habbit of pacifier by not giving it to the baby but breaking thumb sucking habbit is too difficult.cant hide the thumb:)

Answer 8

If you have a baby that's a non-nutritive sucker (i.e. that uses sucking to soothe themselves) then most doctors and dentists will say pacifiers are better.

A pacifier is an easier habit to break. At least you can take them away when it becomes a problem (i.e. when it will start affecting their teeth.)

Answer 9

its not bad in early stages but it becomes unhygienic in later stages when the baby starts crowling since it touches the floor and later sucks the dirty thumb. it also boasts the unactiveness of the baby since it concetrates on sucking the thumb and wont have the sprit of adventure 2 make him active.

Answer 10

Not really. Get them hooked on the pacifier. The thumb sucking will be hard to break when they get older and it can also cause their teeth to cock out .