Thumb Sucking Can Cause Dental Defects

Often you will find babies sucking their thumbs; this is a reflexive action which is not known to cause any serious harm if the babies are still having baby teeth. However, when the permanent teeth start appearing the act of thumb sucking might result in certain dental defects. Statistics suggest that around 80% of the infants and babies have the habit of thumb sucking. The habit persists in 15% of those infants even after they cross 4 years of age; in such cases the habit turns into a serious problem.

As mentioned above, the habit of thumb sucking occurs as a natural reflex action; according to theories of medical science, the babies start sucking their thumbs right from the time they start moving in the mother’s womb. Majority of the babies stop sucking thumbs when they are between the age of 2 and 4 years of age; any baby stopping sucking around this time generally does not experience any dental defect.

The jawbones of an infant are pliable, as a result of which sucking the thumb might end up changing their shape. There are instances when the dental arch of the upper jaw of a baby has got deformed due to the habit of thumb sucking. This, results in protruding appearance of the front teeth of the upper jaw and inward tilting of the front teeth of the lower jaw. Deformation of jaws might also cause cross-bites. Usually, a baby having baby teeth do not experience any of these deformities; these problems mostly occur when the child has not stopped thumb sucking even after crossing the age of 4 years.

How much badly the jaw will be affected by thumb sucking depends on the duration and frequency of the habit. The intensity of the impact also varies based on the way in which the child sucks his thumb. A child who only rests his thumb in the mouth passively is unlikely to have any serious dental defect.

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