We broke the thumbsucking habit!

CleoKitty

Unbelieveable.

Dd has sucked her thumb since birth and it was really starting to show in her teeth. Her palate is narrowed, her two front teeth protrude quite a bit and they're also loose from the way she presses her thumb against them, plus her thumb has a large callous from her teeth.  Even our dentist said he's never seen someone so young who already shows so much damage. Unfortunately, his only suggestion to help her stop sucking was to put hot sauce on it. Um, yeah. Not going to do that to her.

So, we ordered this simple little cloth thumb guard for her and it got here right after Thanksgiving. She wore it pretty much all the time except for when she was eating for the first week or so. For the second week she only wore it at night when she was asleep then we started forgetting to put it on her at all. Just last night dh and I realized that she's not worn it at all for the last week and she's not sucked her thumb even once! 

It's AMAZING that something so simple did the trick. No crying, no tears, nothing. It was just something that she did totally unconsciously and I think she just needed help breaking that habit.  Most of the time she didn't even seem aware that she was sucking her thumb.

Anyhow, if anyone else is in the same boat it can't hurt to try. I paid right around $20 for two thumb guards. That $20 may have just saved us thousands in orthodontist bills or at the very least, I'm sure it will have lessened the amount of orthodontics she'll eventually need.

https://thingerthumbglove.com/

Littlejen22

Thanks, I am going to order it.

NativeNyer

thank you!  I just ordered 2.

true_norskie

Woohoo! 

DD2 sucked her thumb (started at age 1, so a little later than most kids).  I was ready to just sort of go with it until she was closer to 4 or 5 (I sucked my thumb until 5) but DH started gently pushing her to give it up...and she did, just after she turned 3!  I couldn't believe it!

It's only been a couple months but the noticeable change in her front teeth is absolutely amazing.  She went to the dentist for the first time a couple days ago and I told him she had just given that up and he congratulated her up and down and gave her big kudos.

It's a tough one to break--good for your DD!

AnnapolisLari

Would it fit a forefinger? DS has awful damage along the lines of your DD, but he sucks his left index finger and not his thumb.

 

peekaboo716

Reminds me of this from etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/67743265/custom-order-the-original-reversible-me

Glad it worked so well for your DD!!! Congrats!

jlw2505

That is awesome.  What worked with my 5 year old this past fall was getting a stetchy rubber bracelet that she could play with or chew on as needed.  I bought about 10 of them for around $15 and she was over the habit within about 2 weeks during the day and another week or so for overnight.  Now onto my almost 4 year old - I might have to look into this thumb thing you used for her.

amiamish

Colin is only 18months, but I wish I could stop him from sucking his thumb. I'm worried that it will be hard to break when he's older or that he's going to do damage already. He pretty much only sucks it when he is really sleepy so maybe its not too bad?