There’s no doubt about it, sucking a thumb or a dummy can push your child’s teeth into the wrong place. A little use is OK – we all need to get some sleep sometimes – but prolonged use causes problems.

If you stop the use of a dummy or thumb-sucking early enough, then the teeth will go back to a better position. Unfortunately, it can take a lot of nagging to get a child to stop. You can try one of the nasty-tasting anti-nailbiting varnishes. Some parents think that’s harsh, but it can work. For dummies, try a big ceremony of getting rid the dummy – maybe with a little gift in return? The biggest no-no is to make a dummy taste nice by dipping it in something sweet – you can cause terrible tooth decay and your child will resist getting rid of the dummy even more.

As a broad guideline, try to wean your child off the dummy/thumb by 3 yrs old.