Does your child still suck their thumb or even a pacifier? Wondering what kind of impact that can have on their smile, oral health, and overall life? While thumb sucking is normal in young children, it should begin to decrease around age 3-4, completely stopping around age 5. We recommend trying to stop the habit well before age 5, giving your child adequate time to kick the habit. Many parents that start late find it to be stressful.

Why Habit Appliances?

Did you know that pacifier and thumb sucking can actually have a massive impact on your child’s smile and oral health? Long-term thumb or pacifier sucking can cause problems with your child’s ability to properly bite, chew, and even speak. Thumb sucking can also impact the appearance of your child’s face, alignment of their smile and even diminish their airway function. Our Greenwood habit appliances can help make kicking these habits even easier, reducing the stress that most parents face.

About Habit Appliances

Habit appliances are a dental device which is usually secured in the child’s mouth. Habit appliances usually impede the ability to suck on a pacifier or thumb by blocking the area or even adjusting how the tongue is positioned. Due to the fact that younger children’s jaws are rich in blood supply and fairly low in minerals such as calcium, they are more flexible and softer. It is recommended to get your child a habit appliance as early as possible to avoid the effect thumb and pacifier sucking can have on the smile, jaw and overall bite.

Benefits of Habit Appliances

When it comes to helping children kick the thumb sucking habit, our habit dental appliances have various benefits, which include:

• Habit appliances are designed to be discreet, allowing your child to undergo treatment without anyone noticing.
• Habit appliances reduce bad habits such as thumb and pacifier sucking, improving the health, position, and function of your child’s teeth.
• Habit appliances reduce the risk of complications such as misaligned teeth and altered facial appearance.

Get Greenwood Habit Correction Appliances Today

Schedule your child’s consultation with Kids First Dental today. We’d be happy to determine if a habit correction appliance in Greenwood is the best option.