THUMBSUCKING AND FINGERSUCKING: WHAT’S THE PHYSICAL DAMAGE.
Thumbsucking and fingersucking can be devastating to a child’s teeth. If your child can break the thumb sucking habit before the permanent teeth arrive, the damage will be minimal. If their habit persists during the arrival of the permanent teeth and beyond, the upper front teeth will be pulled out and the lower front teeth pushed in due to the weight of the child’s arm pulling downward. Due to the disruption of the upper and lower front teeth, the side teeth are drawn inward due to a natural shrinking of the jaw to re-wedge the teeth together tightly. This is why some children need to have 2 or more upper and lower teeth pulled during realignment by their orthodontist. Finger sucking has a similar effect except the upper and the lower front teeth are pulled out because the child hooks 2 or more fingers over the bottom front teeth and is pulling out and down due to the weight of the child’s arm. The disruption of the child’s teeth is not the only problem that the parents should be concerned about. At HANDAID, we have received many e-mails from parents with children that have breathing disorders because the thumb has displaced the tongue and constricts the flow of air to their lungs. Any pediatrician will tell you that children with a sucking thumb or fingersucking habit are more susceptible to colds, flu and other diseases simply by putting a tainted thumb in their mouth. The main reason HANDAID was invented is because my son kept getting a disease called pinworm. Pinworm is a microscopic parasite that enters a child’s body through the mouth (thumb-sucking), goes through their entire system and makes it’s home in the rectum. It is extremely uncomfortable. The sense of this article is don’t wait. Your child needs to stop thumbsucking or stop fingersucking ASAP. You can put upwards of ten thousand dollars into your child’s college fund or put the money into their mouth. The choice is yours.
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