People have different ways of dealing with boredom, anxiety, and stress. Some children might develop thumb sucking as a way of relaxing. Thumb sucking is common in children, and most people stop sucking their thumbs as they grow older. However, thumb-sucking habits do not go away even when they get into adulthood for other people. As much as you might be feeling better when you suck your thumb, it might lead to some oral health problems. If you cannot stop the thumb-sucking habit, below are some tips on breaking the habit.

How to Break the Habit of Adult Thumb Sucking
To stop the thumb sucking habit, it would be best if you first identify its causes. Identifying the cause of the habit will be easy to address it. The Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa has excellent advice on how to stop the habit of adult thumb sucking.

Prepare
Our dentists at the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa recommend that you set a goal as a way of preparation. The goal is to stop thumb sucking. The plan can start with trying not to suck your thumb for one day and slowing you will do away with the habit.

Plan
It would be best if you make a plan that will work for you. People suck thumbs for various reasons, and it will take different efforts for everyone to unlearn the habit. It might take you long to stop sucking your thumb. To make it possible, try to identify what triggers you to suck your thumb. Once you identify the triggers, you can begin to manage the thumb sucking. If stress triggers you, then you will try other stress-relieving activities like exercising and traveling. Gradually, you will unlearn the thumb-sucking habits. However, it might take longer than you expect. You need to be patient and stick to your plan and goal.

Experiment
You can break the habit of thumb sucking by wearing gloves when you are most prone to the behavior. Also, ask your friends and family to support you, and whenever they notice you are sucking your thumb, they remind you not to.

Reward yourself
Thumb sucking is a bad habit. It might be so hard for you to stop, and therefore, you should not be hard on yourself. Assess yourself after a week, and reward yourself if you did well. If you failed, you should not punish yourself, pick the challenge again, and with time, you will do better.

Why Is It Important to Break the Thumb Sucking Habit?
It is vital to break thumb-sucking habits in adults because of the adverse effects that it might cause. Most adults suck their thumbs as a way of relieving stress and anxiety. However, this is a short-term solution, and the stress might still develop into depression or anxiety. Once you stop thumb sucking, the adult will find other solutions to stress and anxiety. The answer might be speaking to a therapist who will identify the cause of thumb sucking and help you get over the habit by dealing with the primary reason.

Consequences of Adult Thumb Sucking
Thumb sucking might be harmless to children, but in adulthood, it has some side effects. Below are some of the consequences of a long-term thumb-sucking habit.

Dental Problems
At the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa, we identify thumb sucking as the primary cause of dental problems like teeth misalignment, cause an overbite, and alter the jawline. When you suck your thumb your cheek muscles flex which alters the shape of the jawline. Changes in your jaw shape might cause changes in your facial appearance. The dental effects are most familiar to those people who have their thumb in the mouth consistently. Having the thumb in your mouth passively may not lead to teeth misalignment.

Problems with the Thumb
Sucking your thumb might cause blisters on it. Blisters are lumps filled with fluid, which oozes out and result from damages to the skin. Also, the thumb might become thinner and elongated due to frequent sucking.

Stopping thumb sucking might be hard in adulthood. Set goals, be patient, and hold yourself accountable. If you worry that you may be experiencing dental issues due to thumb sucking, visit us at the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa for an appointment. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.