 The child must make the decision on their own to stop sucking their thumb or fingers. To help toward this goal, parents and family members can offer positive reinforcement. Thumb sucking is a security mechanism. Because of this negative reinforcement (such as nagging, scolding or punishments) are commonly ineffective as they make children defensive and drive them back to the habit. As an alternative, give praise or rewards for time successfully avoiding the habit. Slowly increase the time needed without sucking to achieve the reward. For children who want to stop, cover the finger or thumb with a band-aid as a reminder. After the child falls asleep take the thumb or finger out of the mouth.To help older children break the habit, parents should try to find out the reason for sucking and try to correct the circumstances. When the problem is gone, the child often finds it is easier to give up sucking. In the case if this doesn't work, there are dental appliances a child can wear in the mouth to prevent sucking. Such appliances are cemented to the upper teeth, sit on the roof of the mouth and make thumb sucking harder. Tongue thrusting
The habit of sealing the mouth for swallowing by thrusting the top of the tongue forward against the lips is called tongue thrusting.
Just like thumb sucking, tongue thrusting exerts pressure against the front teeth, pushing them out of alignment. It causes them to protrude, creating an overbite and possibly interfering with proper speech development.
When you notice symptoms of tongue thrusting, consult a speech pathologist. He can advice a treatment plan that helps your child to increase the strength of the chewing muscles and to develop a new swallowing pattern. Lip sucking
Lip sucking involves repeatedly holding the lower lip beneath the upper front teeth. It may occur by itself or in combination with thumb sucking. Lip sucking results in an overbite and the same kinds of problems as discussed with tongue thrusting and thumb sucking. Stopping the habit involves the same steps as described for stopping thumb sucking. Primary tooth loss
Early loss of a child's primary teeth typically occurs due to lack of jaw space, tooth decay, injury.
If teeth are lost before the permanent teeth emerge, the nearby teeth can shift into the space now empty. When a permanent tooth tries to emerge into its space, there may be little room for it. The new tooth may emerge tilted.
If your child loses a tooth prematurely, your dentist may recommend a space maintainer. It is a plastic or metal device that holds open the space left by the missing tooth. A space maintainer will be removed by dentist once the permanent teeth begin to erupt.
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