PEDIATRICS Vol. 78 No. 1 July 1986, pp. 174-176
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Aversive Taste Treatment of Finger and Thumb Sucking

PATRICK C. FRIMAN PHD1, VINCENT J. BARONE MA2, and EDWARD R. CHRISTOPHERSEN PHD2

1 The Kennedy Institute for Handicapped Children and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore
2 University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City

Thumb sucking is common and adaptive in infancy and early childhood. But when sucking occurs beyond 4 years of age, a common result can be an anterior, open bite that requires expensive orthodontic correction.1 Prolonged sucking may also be a factor in class II malocclusion, narrowing of the dental arches, mucosal trauma, and digital malformation.1-4 In addition to the physical sequelae of sucking, the habit, because it is not socially approved, can generate persistent negative feedback which can adversely affect a child's self-esteem.5

Thumb sucking is a frequently reported child behavior problem that, in some children, can be associated with broader behavior disorders that require treatment.




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P. C. Friman and B. D. Schmitt
Thumb Sucking: Pediatricians' Guidelines
Clinical Pediatrics, October 1, 1989; 28(10): 438 - 440.
[Abstract] [PDF]