Thumb-sucking babies risk infection, poor dentition - Paediatricians

Thumb sucking is a natural, reflex behaviour among infants that helps to soothe and make them learn to accept nourishment, however, experts say parents should have cause to worry when their babies continue to thumb-suck after developing permanent teeth.

According to them, at this point, the thumb-sucking habit, if not stopped, might affect the roof of their mouth (palate) and expose them to the risk of having poorly arranged dentition and speech disorders.

They explained that because thumb-sucking affects the development of the teeth, jaw, and palate, the habit can also change how the child eats and speaks.

The paediatricians said thumb-sucking babies are at risk of diarrheal infection because they usually put their hands in their mouth without washing.

The risk of malnutrition, they added, also increases as the habit could make them to eat less because they find comfort in sucking.

They advised parents finding it difficult to break the habit in their children to seek help from paediatric dentists, who will apply appropriate interventions to put an end to it

The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends addressing thumb-sucking habits before the age of three.

Mayo Clinic says thumb sucking is a common habit among children, adding, however, that it can be a difficult habit for a child to break.

“Thumb sucking isn’t usually a concern until a child’s permanent teeth come in. At this point, thumb sucking might begin to affect the roof of the mouth (palate) or how the teeth line up. The risk of dental problems is related to how often, how long and how intensely your child sucks on his or her thumb”, the clinic said.

According to the physicians, the poor attitude of some parents toward their children’s oral health, stressing that thumb-sucking may cause lisping and other speech impediments, including the inability to pronounce hard consonant sounds like ‘D’ and ‘T’.

Speaking with our correspondent, a Consultant Paediatric Dentist at the University College Hospital Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr. Popoola Bamidele, said when a child thumb-sucks, there is the tendency to have some dental malocclusion problems that might push the teeth forward and make them not to align as they should in the future.

According to her, thumb sucking is a common habit that makes babies feel secure, adding that some might eventually develop a habit of thumb sucking when they need soothing or want to sleep.

Bamidele said prevention and early detection of thumb sucking are essential in managing dental abnormalities in children.

She noted that dental professionals and paediatricians should educate parents and caregivers about the potential negative consequences of thumb-sucking and implement appropriate interventions.

The paediatric dentist said, “Parents allowing their children to thumb suck don’t know that they are creating a lot of problems for them later on.

“The first problem is that anytime they put their thumb in their mouth and suck, there is a way the palate – the upper part of the mouth, will not grow as much as it should. We call it palate constriction.

“There will be a narrowing of that palate and God has done it in such a way that the palate in a child will allow 20 teeth to occupy the upper jaw and 20 teeth for the lower jaw.

“But once the palate does not grow as much as it should, there will be crowding because they usually place the thumb in a position where those teeth should be, and continuously rest it on that surface. Some of them will have diastema (gap between teeth.).

Bamidele further said thumbing-sucking exposes children to a lot of health issues.

“So, the teeth may come out in another place because of the blockage by the thumb. When you see thumb-seeking children, the only time you don’t see that thumb in their mouth is either when they are sucking their mothers’ breasts or they are being fed. Immediately there is nothing in their mouth, so they return the thumb to the mouth.

“Therefore, the persistent putting of thumbs in the mouth will cause what is called malocclusion, which is an abnormal arrangement of the teeth.

“Also, looking at the hygiene aspect of thumb-sucking, especially by the time they start crawling or walking, they tend to pick dirty things from the floor and put the same thumb in their mouth.

“So, thumb-sucking children do have all manner of medical conditions such as diarrhoea, and vomiting, and they may have an infection that may lead to hospitalisation.”

Continuing she said, “We have seen that children who thumb-suck may not eat because they are satisfied. They derive satisfaction in that thumb-sucking.

“Not all children that thumb-suck will carry the habit to the age of seven. Some of them, by the time people criticize them, their parents would dissuade them and they may stop.

“But some children cannot stop the habit on their own. That is why as paediatric dentists, we have a way of breaking that habit”, she added.

She urged parents to introduce their children to the dentist early to monitor how their teeth form and their nutrition, noting that all this plays a crucial role in the quality and arrangement of the teeth.

“By a child’s fourth birthday, the child should be introduced to a dentist”, she counselled.

Also, another paediatrician and a Child Health Coordinator at Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Mazeedat Erinosho, said, “For children that thumb-suck, especially during their crawling stage, they get in contact with dirt and in the process of thumb sucking, get an infection. It could also affect their dentition.

A recent study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association suggests that children who suck their thumbs beyond age two may be at higher risk of conditions like buck teeth and will have need for braces.

The researchers, led by Dr. John Warren of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, found changes in the bites of children still sucking their thumbs after four and found other problems before that age.

Warren said the findings suggested that dentists should rethink the current advice to parents that sucking behaviours could be ignored until children are in school.