Finger sucking by children

Finger sucking is normal in children up to two years old and harmful after 5 years old. The most common bad oral habit in children is thumb sucking, which is reported to be 75-95% in some societies. Of course, there is no need to worry about thumb sucking until the age of 2 years, but it is a natural, instinctive, necessary and unavoidable thing for a baby’s life…

Sucking fingers and thumbs, pacifiers, chewing lips, nails, and tongue thrusts, or in other words, remaining a baby’s mouth at an older age and grinding teeth, are bad oral habits.

Sucking in children is a natural reflex that has started since they were in the mother’s womb and it is a habit to suck….

Sucking a finger or a pacifier in babies and small children is a natural reaction: because sucking in children is a natural reflex that started from the time they were in the mother’s womb and forms a habit of sucking from 3-4 months.

Thumb or finger sucking is one of the primary compromise actions by which the child pleases himself. This habit gives the child a deep sense of security that he needs.

Sucking and chewing is one of the ways that babies and small children can touch their surroundings. Infants often suck their finger after eating. Other children do this as soon as the pacifier is removed from their mouth.

If the child cannot satisfy the sucking instinct during the breastfeeding period by sucking milk from the mother’s breast and pacifier, he compensates in ways such as thumb sucking and so on.

If your baby or small child puts something in his mouth or sucks his finger, don’t force him to stop doing this because if these children grow up in natural environments and under normal conditions and there is the necessary affection and attention of parents, it will cause It is possible for the child to pay attention to the surrounding environment and become familiar with the new facilities that connect him with the new world, and he gradually starts sucking his finger less and gradually abandons it naturally until he is 3-4 years old. If the sucking instinct does not fade gradually after one year of age, there are various reasons such as:

Jealousy, depression, unpleasant new changes, the birth of a new child, fear of parents or going to kindergarten.

Similarly, the child may do this without reason and according to the habit that has been strengthened in him. If finger-sucking is observed at an older age, especially in the years before going to school, it is a disorder and should be taken seriously.

Complications and problems that sucking can cause:

If this disorder exists in school age, it causes the child to be ridiculed by other peers and causes a decrease in self-confidence.

Another problem is that when a child sucks his finger, it causes his mouth to remain open and he gets used to always breathing through his mouth. Also, sucking his finger sometimes causes the child to speak slang because his tongue does not stay in a normal state.

Likewise, sucking a finger can calm a child so much that he no longer pays attention to the surroundings, such as school and the teacher. The child is fantasizing and cannot focus on anything.

It is recommended that parents take this problem seriously in these situations:

۱- Children from 3 years old who suck their fingers most of the time.

۲- Children who put their tongue behind their teeth when speaking and do not pronounce well.

۳- The times when the growth of the teeth has started and sucking the finger can have an effect on the growth of the teeth.

۴- When the child has reached the level of understanding the issues and can understand the meaning of your words.

Finger sucking in old age is usually seen at night before going to bed, when hungry, while watching TV, insomnia, illness and stress.

Children usually deal with stress in different ways. One of the ways children deal with stress is to get security through finger sucking.

To eliminate this habit, usually after infancy, using punishment.  It is useless to embarrass or close the thumb or blame and immobilize the elbow and even cause aggravation.
Remember:

Improper handling causes this habit to spread in the child.

If you want a child who has finger sucking disorder to stop doing this, you should first search why he doesn’t stop this habit?

* What stressful conditions are you dealing with?

* Family conditions and social factors have a great influence on the personality of older children. Is there stress at school or at home?

If the parents find out the cause of their child’s finger sucking, they can often change the cause and get rid of the child’s habit because if the problem that caused the stress in the child is solved, the child will leave the habit more easily. Sometimes children suck their finger to attract attention. Even if this attention is negative,  They are scolded by their parents for sucking their fingers.

Tips to get rid of finger sucking habit:

Talk to the children and tell them why they should quit this habit. Quitting this habit all at once is difficult for the child.

At first, try to make appointments for the child. For example, don’t put your finger in your mouth only while watching TV, and over time, increase the number of times and situations.

Make a sign with the child and tell him not to do this in front of others with those signs.

Finger-sucking for children happens more often when they are idle or insecure. In these cases, give them something to distract them. Give him a toy or a delicious meal or a job you like, or join him in the game and entertain him.

The best and most effective way is to guide the child indirectly towards correcting the above undesirable behavior and make him do the things he likes so that this habit disappears gradually.

It is not possible to get rid of this habit in one day. Think about at least 3 months.

Treat children positively, don’t punish them. Displace him when he sucks your finger and treat him positively when he doesn’t do it and give him more attention.

Every day that he does not suck his finger, stick a star on the card and give him a gift in exchange for a certain number of stars.

If the child himself wants to stick a sticky tape on his finger for a visual reminder, this issue can help him and remind him.

When the child is asleep and his finger is in his mouth, remove his hand from his mouth.

In some cases, a dentist can help in this matter by explaining to children what effects finger sucking can have on the teeth, and sometimes you can even show them a picture of messy teeth. Of course, children must have reached the level of understanding the issues in order to be able to understand the conversations. In all the mentioned cases, by combining the positive reactions of the parents towards the child, it can help to give up the habit of finger sucking.

Ways to stop finger sucking in children

question)
I am a mother with a 1-year-old daughter. Most of the time my daughter has a habit of putting her thumb in her mouth and I can’t stop this habit of my daughter. People around me say that my daughter’s teeth may not grow regularly after she grows up, and this has worried me.
Please guide me what should I do and does finger sucking cause irregular teeth growth in the future?

The answer to the following questions is Dr. Arash Montazeri (Dentist).

۱- Please tell me what are the oral habits of children (finger sucking)?
Oral habits are a group of children’s voluntary behaviors that, if continued, will cause oral and dental abnormalities (orthodontics) at a later age. One of the most common of these habits is the oral habit of thumb sucking (non-nutritional sucking).
Finger sucking by a child is usually considered normal until the age of 3 years, and from 3 years onwards, this habit is usually left by the child himself. But continuing this habit after the age of 3 may cause oral-dental abnormalities (orthodontics) at older ages.
– What is the reason for oral habits in children?
The reason for this habit is still not clear, but there are two hypotheses in this field:

The first hypothesis, which is known as the PSYCHOANALYTIC theory, states that children who continue such a habit over the age of 3 have some underlying mental disorders.

The second hypothesis or LEARNING theory emphasizes that non-nutritional sucking is a learned habit and cannot be considered as a child’s mental disorder. What is certain is that the child will relax by doing these habits.

۳- What abnormalities and changes can finger sucking cause in the growth of teeth?
Dental changes and abnormalities that occur after finger sucking are very diverse and depend on the intensity, duration and repetition of the habit.

The meaning of intensity is the same force that a child applies to his front teeth when he sucks his finger. The greater the force, the greater the intensity of the secondary abnormality.

The duration also indicates the duration of the habit and the meaning of repetition is the number of times the finger sucking is performed per day.
The duration of finger sucking plays the most important role in the occurrence of mouth and teeth abnormalities.
Some of the common abnormalities following prolonged finger sucking in children include:

۱- ANTERIOR OPEN BITE: In this case, when the child closes his mouth and squeezes the teeth together, the front teeth do not reach each other and are far from each other.

۲- Maxillary arch narrowing: In this case, the arch of the upper jaw narrows, that is, the rows of teeth on the right and left side of the upper jaw are close to each other, which is usually accompanied by speech and chewing disorders.

۳- Increasing the horizontal distance between the front teeth of the upper and lower jaw: which is called CLASS II abnormality.
– What are the methods of treating finger sucking in children?
Treatment in these children should be done with a special strategy. The child should be given a chance to stop his habit before permanent teeth grow. The treatment is often done between the ages of 4-6 and three different methods have been proposed to treat this habit. The choice of any of these treatment methods depends on the child’s desire to stop his habit. These methods include the following:

۱- Reminder: This method of treatment is suitable for children who have the necessary cooperation and who want to quit the said habit themselves. In this method, a waterproof adhesive tape can be attached to the child’s thumb to remind the child not to put his finger in the mouth.

This adhesive tape should remain on the child’s finger until the habit is completely gone, or this habit can be prevented by rubbing solutions or creams with a bad taste on the child’s finger. Of course, care must be taken that this case is not considered as a punishment from the child’s point of view, because in this case the child will try to fight back and the treatment will not have any results.

۲- Reward: In this method, a contract is signed between the child and the parents with the dentist. The contract is such that the child is told that if he repeats this habit for some time, he will receive a reward at the end of the set period. The value of the prize is not important, but it must be liked by the child and stimulate him. This treatment is repeated continuously, and each time the child fulfills the corresponding contract, he receives a reward. It should be kept in mind that during the cooperation of the child to quit the habit, he encouraged him verbally.

۳- Using habit breaking tools: If the child’s habit has not been resolved after receiving the reward, but the child really wants to quit the habit, the method of using anti-habit devices can be used.

In this method, a device is placed in the child’s mouth, which physically makes it difficult for him to continue the habit. In this method, the dentist must justify the child and his parents that this device is not a punishment and is only a reminder.
– How long is the use of habit breaking devices and what points should be observed while using these devices?
From habit breaking devices, we can mention PALATAL CRIB, QUAD HELIX. The spirals of these devices remind the child not to put his finger in his mouth. These devices should usually be placed inside the child’s mouth for 6 months. At the beginning of the work, it is difficult for the child to tolerate the device inside the mouth, but after 2 weeks at most, the child gets used to it.

The important point is that because food and sticky sugary substances stick to the wires used in these devices, oral and dental hygiene must be strictly observed by the child and his parents during the use of this device.

About the causes, factors and side effects of finger sucking and how to treat this bad oral disease, the reporter of the scientific group had a conversation with Dr. Gholamhossein Ramezani, a specialist in pediatric dentistry, which is a must read for parents.

Sucking fingers and thumbs, pacifiers, chewing lips, nails, and tongue thrusts, or in other words, remaining a baby’s mouth at an older age and grinding teeth, are bad oral habits.

* Causes and factors of finger sucking:
Dr. Ramezani says that research has shown that the instinct of sucking is necessary for the life of a baby, and finger sucking is less in babies who are fed with breast milk, as a result of living in today’s industrial world where babies use less breast milk, which is one of the important reasons. It is finger sucking.

This pediatric dentist says: Attachment to sucking in babies is necessary for the development of the central nervous system, and this thumb sucking can help babies adjust to their new world.

He added: Therefore, sucking in children is necessary, instinctive and sometimes acquired, but if it continues after the age of 5 years, it can be taken into consideration and treated.

* Why does sucking start in children?
Dr. Ramezani says: There is a mechanism in the nerve cells of the brain that when these cells are stimulated or exposed to anxiety factors, finger sucking occurs naturally.

He added: On the other hand, brain cells have the ability to secrete a series of secretions such as “enkephalin” and “endorphin”, which decrease nerve transmission by releasing these substances and cause relaxation and a sense of happiness in children.

This pediatric dentist noted that one of the factors that causes the secretion of these two substances in the brain cells is finger sucking.

He added: Eating delicious foods such as breast milk and sports movements in older children such as jogging and other enjoyable activities are also among the things that cause the secretion of these two substances, so children who are fed with breast milk on time and perform the mentioned movements will suck They do not bring his finger.

* Signs and symptoms of finger sucking:
One of the dental abnormalities caused by finger sucking is the mouth remaining open and the distance falling between the upper and lower jaws, protruding the upper jaw and remaining infantile swallowing in people.

Another side effect of this bad oral habit is speech disorders such as stuttering, so that a person in adulthood cannot pronounce some letters such as S, S, L, and C.

Dr. Ramezani says that developing secondary habits such as brushing hair, pulling facial hair, and lip biting are among these side effects.

Calluses and deviation of fingers are other side effects of finger sucking.

* How to cure finger sucking habit in children?
In response to this question, Dr. Ramezani, vice president of dental education at Azad University, says: As it was said, finger sucking in children under five years old, especially in the first two years of life, is not a cause for concern.

He says: The first step to treat this oral habit is to understand the child’s emotional development, and mothers should know that this habit is a natural thing that is necessary for the child to be fresh and healthy.

After this understanding, creating a natural, safe and calm environment for the child and having a correct diet plan is the most important factor that causes him to quit this habit.

This pediatric dentist says: The magic age for treating this habit in children is 5 years old because at this age the child can have a sufficient understanding of the environment and understand the future problems of this habit.

He says that interventional treatment is sometimes associated with success and it is recommended that the child wants to quit this habit on his own, and he will not respond if forced, and the role of parents is very important in this regard.

* Three different ways to treat finger sucking:
– ۱ reminder therapy
In this method, a waterproof bandage or tape is placed on the index finger, which should remain on the finger until the habit is broken.

Pouring pepper and doing punitive work in this method of treatment is not effective.

– ۲ reward system
In this method, a contract is made between the child, the parents and the dentist, according to which the child will receive a reward if he reduces the time of finger sucking, and this reward will gradually increase until the habit is broken.

– ۳ Using orthodontic devices
In this method, special orthodontic devices are installed on the teeth by the dentist, which both corrects the infant’s swallowing and prevents finger sucking.