When should you worry about thumb-sucking?

Lots of you have asked Dr. Gutkin about whether it’s healthy for children to suck thumbs (or, less frequently, fingers). If you’ve got a thumb-sucker in the house, you are not alone. Research tells us that between 75% and 95% of infants suck their thumbs. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Is this anything to worry about? In most cases, probably not. Sucking is a natural reflex for an infant, and can provide security and contentment as well as relaxation for your little one. It’s a habit that most kids grow out of between the ages of two and four.

However, if your child keeps sucking after he’s gotten his permanent teeth, it’s time to take a closer look. If your child sucks his thumb aggressively, putting pressure on the inside of his mouth or his teeth, it could cause problems with tooth alignment and proper mouth growth. If you’re worried, give us a call at Whole Earth Dental and we will help assess the situation, and provide tips for how to help your child break the habit.

Tooth Fairy “Tooth” Box

For your child, losing those baby teeth can be very exciting! They might ask you, "what do I do with my lost tooth?" Well, you simply place it under your pillow at night and when you are fast asleep the tooth fairy will come and whisk your tooth away leaving behind a special gift just for you! Here's a great craft project for you and your child from Disney that will make the tooth fairy’s job a little easier and give their tooth a special place to stay until it is taken away.

Tooth Fairy “Tooth” Box

What you will need:
• 1 large empty match box
• Enough felt to wrap the box and inside sliding tray
• Ribbon
• Glue (tacky glue or a hot glue gun)
• Markers
• White, pink and blue (or your child's favorite color) felt for decorating the matchbox
• Scissors

Step 1: Pull the inner tray out of the box and line the inside with glue and felt as shown. Wrap the outside of the box with felt and glue it in place.

Step 2: Glue ribbon to the outside of the box in a hanging loop shape. Fold another piece of ribbon in half and glue it to the bottom of the inner tray to create a handle for sliding it in and out.

Step 3: Draw a tooth shape on paper, cut it out, and trace it onto the white felt twice. Cut out the teeth and face details.

Step 4: Decorate the teeth with the eyes and cheeks and draw on a mouth. Glue one tooth to the outside of the box.

Step 5: Create a tooth pocket by applying glue to the sides and bottom of the remaining tooth as shown, leaving an opening at the top. Glue the pocket to the inside tray. Once the glue dries, the box is Tooth Fairy-ready.

Meet Our Dentist

Being a dentist is my dream job. I feel blessed to have such a fulfilling career. Every day I look forward to being at work, and the challenges and rewards of the day ahead. I truly believe in my practice and my team. Together our goal is to become established within the community as a practice that is not only dedicated to improving and maintaining the oral health of our patients, but that is also dedicated to the environment. We are proud to be one of Seattle's first sustainable dental practices, providing complete care for family and the environment.

I was born in Israel, but my family and I moved to California when I was very young. I lived in San Jose until high school, when my family moved once again, this time to Colville, Washington. Living in so many different places has given me a unique perspective on the world, and while I am thankful that I've had such a diverse upbringing, I feel like Seattle is my true "hometown;" it's where I was always meant to settle down, and I am so happy to be home doing what I love.

When I'm not at the practice, I enjoy spending time at home with my wonderful girlfriend, Emily, who is a social worker helping homeless adults in the city. I am very proud of her achievements, and I support her in her career. We just welcomed a new addition to our family - our new puppy! He is an English Mastiff/Great Pyrenees mix, and once he's full-grown we think he'll probably weigh more than 150 pounds. To relax, I enjoy woodworking and carpentry, gardening, learning about space and astronomy, tinkering with tech gadgets, camping, and of course training and playing with our new dog!