All babies have the natural instinct to suck their thumb. It starts as a comfort mechanism, when young children suck their fingers, toys or pacifiers to help calm down and often to help them fall asleep. There is nothing wrong with it while the child is young.

A general rule is that time of the child's permanent teeth begin to come through, it is a good time to start breaking the habit there. While children are young, their jaw bone and the roof of the mouth are growing and can be modified by the suction pressure. Usually between the ages of 2 and 4 is when children begin to break the habit. So before it is too late, you can start breaking habit by using some hand stopper guard to stop finger sucking.  

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What does it do?

Depending on the age of the child, the child is sucking like a pacifier or a finger, how much they suck, and for how long can all be factors that determine the outcome of sucking thumb, according to the American Dental Association (ADA). 

When children suck their thumbs too, upper teeth begin to protrude out and the lower teeth protrude to make room for the thumb to sit in the mouth that causes the teeth to form a gap. At the same time, the palace or "roof" of the mouth becomes abnormally arched pressure created while sucking.

What should I be looking?

Once the adult teeth start coming, try to help your child stop sucking their thumb, finger, pacifier, etc. If you begin to notice that your teeth before the child is stung in answer to butt, see your dentist for an opinion. If your child still sucking his thumb after age 5 years, it is recommended to initiate measures to help counter the behavior before problems begin.