Thumb-sucking device?

[JerseyMouse]

We used "Mavala" with my daughter and it worked:

http://www.amazon.com/Mavala-Stop-Biting-Sucking-0-3-Fluid/dp/B0000YUXI0

 

[CJ1010]

My DS also used to suck his thumb - he didn't completely stop until almost 7.

Here's what I tried:
Thumb (bitter tasting) - kept sucking, didn't even slow him down at all
Plastic thumb guard - spent $75+ for it and he chewed it up like a goat
Bribery - even promised him a pet but he didn't care
Glove - he'd take it off
Bandaid - took it off
Sewing a mitten to the end of his pajamas - ripped the stitches to get his hand out

What finally worked:
The combination of him wanting to quit and wrapping his thumb & part of hand in tape (medical type that wouldn't hurt taking it off). I watched him a few times while sleeping and he'd go to put his thumb in his mouth, but the tape would trigger him to pull it out. Since he wanted to quit, he left it on before falling asleep and then when he was sleeping the tape reminded him not to.

If this hadn't worked, we also would have put in a mouth appliance.

Good luck! It's extremely frustrating.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[SYDCOLEMOM]

My 9 year old daughter had a night time thumb sucking problem. She was totally unaware of it. Our dentist sent us for an orthodontist consult a few months ago. He recommended Maval Stop (can be purchased on Amazon). We painted it on her nails every night for 2 weeks and she hasnt sucked her thumb since. It does taste nasty but it trains the brain to stop sucking the thumb. Much less expensive than any other options we had. Give it a try.

 

[angierae]

My personal experience as a former thumb sucker is that until the child is ready to stop, they will find a way. The kid learns to deal with the bitter stuff for a few minutes and then the taste is gone. If the dental device isn't glued in then they wait until it is out. A motivated, creative kid will find a way. They will also find a way to stop. My reason was going to my first sleepover.

I am a nailbiter, and that's exactly what happened with me - I would deal with the taste until it was gone, and then go back to sticking my fingers in my mouth. My daughter was a thumbsucker and when she was about 4 and a half we kept reminding her every few days that when she turned five, she could no longer suck her thumb. On her fifth birthday she woke up and said "I'm five now, I can't suck my thumb." She was upset the first few times she woke up in the night sucking her thumb but she eventually out grew that as well.

For an older child, it's REALLY HARD. I'm 37 years old and I still can't stop biting my nails because I don't even realize I'm DOING it. I will have half my nails chewed off before I'm even consciously aware of it. If your son really wants to stop, he's going to have to do things like wear the gloves to bed, and deal with some nights of having a hard time falling asleep. If he doesn't really want to stop - well, at his age, I would probably shell out for the appliance because that really seems like the only option for a child of that age.

 

[itsheresomewhere]

A friend made one for her son out of duct tape. They had the one the doctor recommended but he chewed that. The brace she made out of duct tape is removable and tastes bad. It is a slow battle but it is working at night. Now he is chewing his pj sleeve at night.

 

[ampc3]

Good luck ampc.. I had a friend growing up that sucked her thumb into her teens. She needed jaw surgery. I won't go into the details because it was terrible. And the whole structure of her face was different when she was done. She looked like a different person and her voice was altered as well.

OP I would google this and show him all the information you have since he is certainly old enough to understand.

Then start with the bribery.

Thanks
I think the headgear at night really helped and looks so much better already! Just hoping that it doesn't move to much again now that everything is off for awhile... My SIL had the jaw surgery as an adult and was AWFUL.. fingers crossed we can avoid that route!

I guess we got lucky with the thumb device b/c my son never tried to "chew" on it as he said it was to big in his mouth lol and didn't like the feel.
bribery always works too

 

[mamaski]

We used a product called Thumbuddy To Love ($19) and my child loved it. Comes with book, thumb/finger puppet and success chart. I would not use a device put in the mouth...too mean. Thumbuddy to Love is positive and fun for kids...google it.

 

[minnie1012]

Bribing worked for me when I was little. When I was in the second grade, we went away for a weekend with friends of my parents. Their daughter was a few years older than me and she had her own suitcase. I thought that was so cool! (such simplier times, lol) My parents said I could have my own suitcase if I stopped so I did cold turkey!

My daughter is 4 and I have tried to bribe her and its just not working. I even tried to cut her back to just sucking her thumb at night but now she just sneaks it during the day. Maybe she needs to be older for bribing or I just haven't found the right "bribe" yet!

 

[danygirl]

I think DD was 10 when she quit thumb sucking. The ortho wanted $500 for the appliance. DH said surely there is SOMETHING she wants that costs less than $500! We were planning a trip to NYC so we told her she could go to the American Giirl Store and pick out a new doll and some stuff. We spent about $150. Saved $350, plus she had the satisfaction of stopping on her own of her own free will. I also think the appliance is a vector for decay, so we avoided more fillings.

 

[lizzygreen]

I am a fourth grade teacher and had a student last year who still sucked her thumb. First half of year, mom and I had an incentive program in place - it did not work. Mom went to dentist looking for an apparatus for her mouth that would make thumb sucking unpleasant and the dentist actually suggested a low tech solution which worked. Buy a batting gloves, and cut the tips off the four fingers so the child has normal use of the fingers. Keep the thumb part of the glove attached. The child did not want to suck on the batting glove material and she kicked the habit. It is an inexpensive remedy if it works for you. Good luck!

 

[ceecee]

Okay, I know this sounds weird. The dentist I used to work for (12 years) used this technique. The child eats a cookie and a glass of milk before bed and calls him in 2 days to tell him if it worked! These kids would call and say it worked! Mind games!

 

[Leajess99]

My DS's dentist told us today that he needs to stop sucking his thumb because it's affecting his teeth. He said the best way in his experience is to put a thumb sucking device in his mouth for 6 months. I don't doubt that it's a good idea, but my insurance doesn't cover it at all and they want $285 for it.

So my questions are, does anyone have any experiences to share about one of these? Did it work/not work? Was it painful? And my other question, if I'm going to do this, is there a way to make this less expensive? Would it be worth it to shop around and if so can I call around or would each dentist expect to actually see him to give me a price?

I would seriously take your son to an orthodontist for their opinion/options. My 10 year old daughter is getting something similar to the thumb sucking device due to a tongue thrust which has caused her an open bite. By going to the orthodontist you may have better luck with treatment coverage.

My son's former dentist wanted to put him in a chin cup which was going to be costly. In the end a visit to the orthodontist and we had better treatment options and we found that the chin cup was not the answer.

 

[Leajess99]

I also think the appliance is a vector for decay, so we avoided more fillings.

My son had a similar appliance and my youngest daughter will be getting one as well. My son did not get any cavities from having it and I doubt my daughter will either. As long as they are brushing their teeth, and if need be having you brush them as well, than there should be no problems with cavities. My son had his appliance at 8 and my daughter is 10 and getting hers in March.

 

[Jennifer84]

My DS (8) just recently got his thumb guard removed. He had his in for about 3 months. It wasn't painful at all to put in (they glue it onto a couple of the back teeth and it rests on the roof of their mouth so that they cannot possibly suck their thumb). It's been out for about a month and he hasn't sucked his thumb one time! It will save tons of money on an orthodontist later on if you can fix the issue now!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Good luck. I sucked my thumb until I was 12 years old. Nothing my parents tried worked until I was determined to quit. (gosh, i sound like a smoker!)

I never heard of something you implant in your mouth to stop thumb sucking. It sounds kind of barbaric, but it would probably work. Lucky for me, I never needed braces.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

We're starting with the bribe, DS's face lit up when I told him if he could sleep without sucking his thumb for two weeks he would get some more Skylander figures and if he did it for 3 months he will get Skylander Giants. He told me he was going to try really hard. I think I might need to put something on his thumb so he doesn't do it subconsciously while he's asleep though so I'm going to talk to him and see how he feels about a glove or some of the other ideas mentioned here now that he's actually on board with quitting.

It's funny that a poster mentioned smoking, I bribed my DH to quit, too. He kind of wanted to, but didn't want to put the work in. Well, his laptop died and I told him if he quit smoking for a month he could buy a new one. It was the motivation he needed, he did quit, then he started again when he deployed, but he has been home now for 3 months and hasn't smoked.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I would seriously take your son to an orthodontist for their opinion/options. My 10 year old daughter is getting something similar to the thumb sucking device due to a tongue thrust which has caused her an open bite. By going to the orthodontist you may have better luck with treatment coverage.

My son's former dentist wanted to put him in a chin cup which was going to be costly. In the end a visit to the orthodontist and we had better treatment options and we found that the chin cup was not the answer.

I will keep this in mind if the methods at home don't work. I didn't consider seeing an orthodontist. I have had some trouble finding one in my area that will take my insurance though because I have a small amt. of dental coverage on our medical insurance and we have a dental plan on top of that so our medical has to be billed first and I'm finding that a lot of the ortho offices won't bill both. I'm on the lookout for one now because DD needs braces so that is still a reasonable option.

 

[DebMcDonald]

We tried everything (mittens at night, wrapping it, nail polish, and the only thing that actually worked for my DD was a pallet expander, which she needed anyway. I can honestly say that stucking her thumb didn't do anything to her mouth, she would have needed the braces anyway and the pallet expander all of my girls have also needed, so for us it was a blessing that it stopped the thumb sucking. My DD was probably 9 or 10 when she finally forced to stop.

 

[penn19]

I wrapped dd thumb with a bandaid and promised a reward for not sucking. The reward was something "big" she really wanted (too many years ago I don't remember what it was) but it worked.

I did the same thing when my ds was 2. He hated bandaids with a passion. Took less than a weekend and he never tried again. Didn't choke either.

 

[mamaski]

For older kids, i would use the thum stuff as long as it is natural and no chemicals. For younger children (3-6) , i would use Thumbuddy To Love because it is positive and fun to help children stop thumb sucking.