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Meet the doctor: Finger sucking addiction causes teeth misalignment

As children get older, they may develop the habit of finger sucking. Unfortunately, research shows that persistent finger sucking can have long-lasting negative side effects. Possible side effects of prolonged or intense thumb sucking include teeth misalignment and speech impediment among others.

Speaking to IGIHE; Dr Sandeep Goyal, a Dentist & orthodontist at Advanced Dental Centre in Kigali city has deeply explained side effects of finger sucking, how parents can help children and how it can be rectified if it has damaged teeth and the jaw.

Dr. Goyal has said that finger sucking is a usual habit among children that it starts affecting the jaw after three years.

“Finger sucking is normal for a child but it causes side effects if the practice spans for over three years. It starts damaging teeth at this stage and can be harmful if parents do not seek assistance from a dentist,” he said.

Dr. Goyal explained that sucking fingers for over three years damages jaw bones, misaligns and prolongs teeth out of month, and affects nasal respiratory tracts.

Dr. Goyal has however revealed that such anomalies can be corrected.

“When someone has misaligned teeth to the extent that it causes speech impediment, the problem lies in bones structure. We bring them to normal using orthodontics braces. We also conduct surgery to correct the anomaly in case braces are not helpful,” he noted.

Dr. Goyal said that there are unusual braces made from laboratory placed in the mouth of children in age brackets between 8 and 10 to stop misalignment.

He advised parents to try their best to discourage children from finger-sucking addiction to avoid such side effects.

Dr. Goyal reminded parents whose children experienced side effects emanating from finger sucking to seek assistance from accredited dentists to properly rearrange teeth to stop speech impediment and stigma related to misalignment.

Advanced Dental Centre has all it takes to assist patients with longstanding expertize and specialists in teeth rearrangement. It also has specialists in charge of treating other teeth and mouth problems including bad breath, tooth decay, tooth extraction, brushing, and whitening.

The expert says that people should put down the idea that dental care is expensive but go to the Advanced Dental Centre as they work with various insurance companies, RSSB, MMI, and others and it works all day of the week.

For advice on how to take good care of your teeth and medical care call the experts of the Advanced Dental Centre on 0789313200.