braces and thumbsucking

[ShopGirlBraced]

Mi Anna, my teeth did suffer, and the bite is a direct result from my thumb sucking - I now have a 3mm anterior open bite which we are trying to fix through braces alone. I strongly suggest you get the crib. Anything that is for night time use only or a removable plate etc that you can put on yourself, will probably end up being removed in desperation ... but I promise you, after a week it becomes so much easier. Just be prepared for the first couple of nights feeling uncomfortable. The crib is really discreet inside of your mouth and would not be noticed by people talking with you. The only trouble I had was that I tended to lisp for a couple of days after it was put in.

Maybe just an email to the ortho, letting him know the situation and that you are embarrassed and don't wish to discuss it in person, but that you would like an orthodontic device to stop thumb sucking as you do not want to ruin any of the hard work that you are doing with your braces. If you have any questions about the crib, please let me know - always happy to answer!

Good Luck x

[Anna5]

Thanks for your wise, kind and encouraging replies! I am so thankful to you all to receive so much friendliness and support. This really means a lot for me, especially in discussing this for me very sensitive issue. Kipepeo, thanks for your advise to let my psychologist tell the ortho. However, I think it is better that I tell or write to ortho myself, because the aim of my psychological therapy is to get stronger myself, to overcome my embarassement.....Jem, thanks for your very friendly message, and especially for your comment that there is nothing
shameful or wrong about thumbsucking, except that it can damage teeth. That meant a lot for me. Sometimes I feel like to worst criminal in the world just because of thumbsucking! Especially when I read all the internet pages about the detrimental effect of thumbsucking on the teeth and jaw and people's opinions about adult thumbsucking (unfortunately not all people on the internet are as friendly and nonjudgemental as you all here on archwired....). It can make me feel very guilty. Plugnickel, thanks for your message as well. Your suggestion about how to tell my ortho is very good I think, if I dare tell him in person.... I was also hoping for an appliance that is only used at night, but maybe you are right, shopgirlbraced, that it will probably be removed in desperation....Are you wearing the crip now, shopgirlbraced? I am sad to hear that your teeth also suffered from thumbsucking and that you have an anterior open bite as well. I hope they can close it with braces.... Did they also suggest surgery to you? To me they did, but I refused, far too invasive and too much stress which I cannot handle, at lest for now (getting rid of thumbsucking is stressful enough for me now...). Thanks you for your encouragement that after a week it will get much better. Did it only take that short a time for you to stop thumbsucking? That is very encouraging!

[ShopGirlBraced]

Hi Anna

I haven't had the crib for quite a few years now. Funnily enough, although I stopped missing the thumb-sucking after about a week, they left the crib in for about six months so that there was no relapses, and when it was removed putting my thumb in my mouth felt so strange and foreign. Really was such a simple remedy for something that had caused me so much distress and embarrassment! They initially suggested surgery, but once I refused that, two different ortho's suggested that I should be able to achieve pretty good results with braces only. It's actually been quite suprising as I can see a pretty big difference in four months Ill have to post some pics up soon, the progress has really started since I got a thicker wire at my last adjustment.

[Anna5]

That is quick that you stopped missing thumbsucking after a week, Shopgirlbraced! What age were you when you stopped thumbsucking? I am sad to hear that it also caused you so much distress and embarrassment. I am glad the crib worked out well for you and that it helped you kicking the habit quite easily. I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your progress!
I am quite proud to tell you that during the past 4 nights, I haven't sucked my thumb! I put heaps of plasters on the thumb before going to sleep and they remain dry during the night! I also sleep without sleeping pills now. Sleeping is still hard for me and I don't sleep well without thumbsucking and without sleeping pills, but I know I have to keep on now, I am on the right track!

[Roboto]

Sooo a big (secret) part of me getting braces again was that I desperately wanted to quit my thumb sucking (braced at 24, now 26). My close close family knew and I'm sure my husband of a year knew, even though I did my very best (yeah right) to hide it. I had managed to kick the habit the first time I had braces when I was around 14 but started up again a few years later. This time around I did the same as you and lied about it to my ortho.. It's so embarrassing! However, I knew I was going to be getting an appliance that wouldn't let me fit my thumb in anymore (same idea as the tongue cage/crib/whatever it's called lol). Getting an appliance or a tongue crib is the absolute best way to kick the habit!! You have NO choice because you can't cheat and sneak your thumb.. even subconsciously. It's not easy but cold turkey is the way to do it. They say it takes something like 21 days to form a new habit... Well, I bet it takes even longer than that to break a lifelong habit. I'm not sure when exactly I stopped "craving" it, but I tried to keep my hands distracted a lot - knitted a whole bunch of projects during that time lol. Actually, talking about it and focusing on thumb sucking makes me crave it (not nearly as much as before! I can forget about it now) but I know that I absolutely canNOT even put my thumb in my mouth to test myself (once an addict, always an addict lol!). The plus side is that the roof of my mouth is not at all shaped like it was at the start of my treatment, so even if I wanted to start again, it wouldn't be as comfortable as before. No more perfect thumb-shaped crevice!

Sorry that was a little long.. I can just really relate. Tell your ortho so you can have something installed. You can't escape your thumb so it needs to be blocked. It will be uncomfortable but that's temporary and you will NOT regret it when you come out the other side of it!

[Anna5]

Thanks for your sharing your story, Roboto, and for all the support and encouragement. It means so much to me to know that I am not the only adult who is/ was struggling with this problem. And it gives me confidence that in the end I will be able to kick this habit. I have not sucked my thumb at night (apart from a few seconds) for a week now, and it is still quite hard. I still crave it a lot and don't sleep well. I talked to my psychologist about it and she said it will probably take about 6 weeks for me/ my body to get used to not sucking my thumb to fall asleep (and not taking sleeping pills as well). So I will still have some hard weeks to go, but she said it will become easier every week that passes by. I hope so!

How are you doing now? Did your bite suffer a lot from the thumbsucking? How did you manage to tell your ortho about the thumbsucking? ( I suppose you did tell him eventually because you got the crip in?). How did he react? I still fear telling or even writing my ortho about it, but all the kind support from this forum and knowing that I am not the only adult in the world with this habit, helps me a lot to overcome my extreme embarassement and to keep track on my way to a more beautiful smile. I will keep you updated!

[HKFandora]

Time for a thumb crib OP, either that or some cayenne pepper or a band aid? Do those two things actually work for a thumbsucker. My little cousin would suck his thumb and use the other hand to lift his shirt and take the shirt end to rub on his nose.

[Dee17]

Hi Anna,
I'm not a thumb sucker and never had that habit but I used to bite my nails something awful. It always embarrassed me whenever I saw anyone looking at my hands.
I wouldn't be embarrassed to tell my orthodontist if I were you. You've already taken an enormous step in getting braces. Allow him to help you completely -- confess your issue to him so he can come up with a pro-active way to help you kick your habit once and for all. I guarantee you, you won't be telling him anything he hasn't heard before. It would be a shame to spend two years wearing braces only to still have the problem when you're all finished.
PS: I can't bite my nails now that I'm wearing braces. My hands look so nice. Never thought I would see the day!

[SparklyMouth]

Hi Anna,
confession is good for the soul. AND I'll bet your ortho knows what's going on without your saying anything (just like the hairstylist knows when you colored your own hair). Anyway, as a reformed thumbsucker (my mom made me kick habit when I was 5 or 6), I am now the owner of that lovely appliance that stops tongue thrusting (pushing teeth with the tongue). I will tell you this I CANNOT STAND this thing!! I have pinched my tongue, drooled unexpectedly, garbled words daily for the past 2 weeks. When I open my mouth I look like some alien. The up-side, I laugh about it and make my kids laugh when I make crazy sounds and flash the appliance and I've lost more than 5 pounds because eating is a hassle. My ortho said my tongue will be in jail for 3-6 months. I'm gunning for 3 months.
Just 'fess up...you're paying for braces with the anticipation of a beautiful smile, thumbsucking defeats the purpose and wastes your hard-earned money.
If you get the appliance, I suggest you enjoy soft smooshy foods now (french fries, spaghetti, soft bread and sandwiches) now. My appliance really makes enjoying those treats a nusiance.

g'Luck!