Dental Implications of Thumb-Sucking

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Abstract
Controversy continues to exist over the problem of thumb-sucking, not only as to its cause and implications, but as to the best method and time of treatment. Pediatricians to whom concerned parents bring their children with this problem may find it difficult to decide what are the implications and just what he should advise the parents from both the medical and dental point of view. HABIT AND PSYCHOLOGIC DISTURBANCE Although originally considered to be a symptom of deeper psychologic import, the idea that undesirable sequelae will result from punitive restrictions on thumb-sucking derives from Freudian concepts of psychopathology. However, this theory has not been supported by recent research, and nonnutritive sucking is now considered to be simply learned behavior.1-3 There is no evidence to substantiate the theory that prolonged sucking habits result from emotional disturbances.4 No relationship has been found between prolonged sucking habits and the child's place in line of siblings.5 The habit is to be expected to occur in a large percentage of infants but can only be considered pathological, associated as it is with deformity of teeth and related structures, when prolonged beyond infancy. INCIDENCE Age is a very important determinant in assessing the incidence of the habit. Thumb-sucking, including various types of finger sucking, is frequent in infants. Traisman and Traisman2 found that 45.6% of American children under the age of 4 years thumb-sucked with no significant differences between the sexes. Baalack and Frisk6 in a retrospective study of Swedish children found that 30.7% had been, or still were, thumb-sucking at the time of the study.
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