[Psychology and dentofacial orthopedics. Apropos of various results]

What should be done about the child who sucks his thumb? If the child has no dento-maxillary deformity, he should be left to suck his thumb. In the presence of deformities, it would seem wise not to interfere before the age of 6 or 7 years. Firstly, the majority of thumb suckers abandon this behavior spontaneously between 3 and 7 years, and secondly it is only at the age of 6 years that the milk teeth begin to be replaced by the adult dentition. An early intervention has the risk of being ineffective or even of reinforcing the habit and leading to other problems. After 7 years, the child with deformities should be examined and in the absence of an psychological contraindication, "invigoration psychotherapy" should be undertaken in order to put a stop to the thumb sucking habit. Finally, when the 8 year old continues to suck his thumb despite psychotherapy by the psychologist or the stomatologist, the advice of a child psychiatrist must be sought in order to determine whether the symptom which the habit represents should be disturbed or not.