Thumb sucking and pacifier usage is commonplace for babies and young children to help with self-soothing.

Photo via brightsidedental.com

Though many dentists and orthodontists, including Dr. Hirsh, recommend ending “binky” usage by age two and thumb sucking by age four or five, these pacifying acting don’t cause too much harm to the shape of the jaw or direction of the teeth until the permanent teeth start to erupt between age five or six.

The process of getting rid of the binky can be challenging and emotional, sometimes even more so for the parents than the kids. We asked patients and local mom bloggers to give us some tips that have worked for them in getting rid of the binky.

1) Morgan Benzian, former patient of Dr. Hirsh and Mother Hen over at The Little Hen House, said she pulled the pacifier from her little one cold turkey, but not before heading to Toys R’ Us to swap out the binkies for a new shiny toy. Her “breaking up with binky” experience is documented on her blog, complete with video footage.
2) Chelsea Nichole of Someday I’ll Learn recommends the Bye Bye Pacifier Elmo DVD and Densie Scatena of the PR firm ScatenaDaniels Communications recommends the board book, Binkies are Not Forever.
3) Mary Burt-Godwin of The Mama Mary Show recommends first limit the binky time to nap and bed-time only at age two, and then introducing the concept of “The Binky Fairy” who comes on a child’s third birthday. The Binky Fairy leaves a gift for the “big 3 year old” in exchange for all the old binkies. She takes them to little babies who need them. There is a children’s book called the Binky Fairy that you can read to your kids too.
4) Poking a hole with a small stick pin in the center of the binky will cause airflow and will not allow for proper suction, which frustrates the kids.

Though it may seem challenging at first, getting rid of the binky is mostly painless and easy once the initial shock wears off in a day or two.

Thumb sucking, on the other hand, can be a bit more challenging since it’s not a separate entity that can be discarded and given away to a fairy. In previous years, parents were told to try such techniques as using Tobasco sauce or other ill-tasting nail treatments, yet such techniques were found to be a bit traumatic for children
and are no longer recommended.

Some are some tips for ending thumb sucking from more of our patients and local bloggers:
1) Bribery! Most parents will tell you that bribery has a special place in their arsenal of tricks to get their kids to do what they want them to do. Thumb sucking is no different. Read local San Diego blogger Leah Singer’s account of how she got her daughter to stop sucking her thumb by bribing her with a pink tent from Target.

2) Limit thumb sucking time for home only, at nap time and bed time. If your child sucks his or her thumb when holding a special blanket, limit the time with the blanket (another tip from Leah).

3) Use encouragement and positive reinforcement rather than criticizing when they do suck their thumb.

4) Placing a sock or mitten over the hand while kids sleep.

5) Products like the thumb or finger guard at that you can find online.

Good luck with the process, parents! Dr. Hirsh sets up contracts with kids to help them put an end to their habits and he has a nearly perfect success rate so be sure to call us if you get in a bind or have any questions.

Here at Braces San Diego we are all about making your orthodontic visit pleasant and even fun, so the days of dreading orthodontist appointments are long gone! Thanks to our new gaming areas inside the office lobbies, patients can look forward to their appointments and get their game on. Available for use are several two game stations, one XBOX station with NCAA Football, Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, Bass Fishing, Space Channel and one Playstation station with Spiderman, Enter the Gecko, Cat in the Hat, Nicktoons Unite! Parents, all games are rated E rated Everyone and kids, we’re taking suggestions for other E rated games.

Notice the Retro Pac Man & the All-the-Rage Angry Bird decor

Dr. Hirsh is pretty good at the NCAA Football game so I dare you to take him on in a game. Have fun and game on!

Last week, Dr. Hirsh attended the 11^th Annual Damon Forum in Phoenix, Arizona, an annual conference put on by Ormco Corporation. This year the special guest speaker and highlight of the conference, was Bethany Hamilton, the world-class surfer who survived a harrowing, nearly-fatal shark attack. Her beautiful spirit and positive outlook on life, particularly after what she has endured, is truly inspiring. She flashed her gorgeous Damon smile and took time to meet attendees and sign autographs.

Dr. Hirsh with "Soul Surfer" Bethany Hamilton

DVD copies of the auto-biographical film Soul Surfer, were on-sale and proceeds of the profits went towards Smiles for a Lifetime, which is a non-profit organization in Orange County that helps families get orthodontic care for their children.

The Damon System and Forum are a product of Ormco Corporation, an industry leader with the mission of servicing  “progressive Orthodontists who desire to continuously improve the health, beauty, and youthful appearance of their patients.”  The Damon system of bracketing is a premier method of correcting crooked teeth in teens as well as adults. For more information on the Damon System, book a consultation with Dr. Hirsh and his staff today. And in the meantime, let your light shine as bright as Bethany Hamilton.

If you’re a Braces San Diego patient, you know that Dr. Hirsh and all the staff at BSD love to run contests, so we’ve come up with a whole new type of contest to celebrate the new year. We’re excited to announce our first ever Braces San Diego YouTube video contest. Here are all the details:

HOW TO ENTER:

Upload a 90 second or less video to YouTube.com telling us: “What you’re looking forward to in 2012”.

[UPDATED on 2.7 - Be sure to leave the link to your video either here in the comments or on our facebook page.]

RULES:

Video must be 90 seconds or less.
Video must contain all your own material.
Video MAY include photos (like a photo montage).
Video must be G rated.

You or a family member must be a patient of Braces San Diego to enter.

Video must be uploaded no later than 11:59 PST on March 16th, 2012.

When uploading the video, please:

Include Braces San Diego in the title of the video.
Include Braces, San Diego, Orthodontics, Dr Hirsh in the tags.

If you do not have your own YouTube account, you can send the video via YouSendIt.com to mary [at] bracessandiego [dot] com and we will upload it to our Braces San Diego channel.

JUDGING:

Videos will be judged by a panel of office staff.
They will be looking for creativity, humor and personality. (You know Dr. H loves a good laugh).

TIPS:

• Look into the lens when talking into the camera.
• Be sure the camera is at eye level so we can’t see up your nose.
• Sites like Animoto.com allow you to easily create photo montages with 10 second video clips.
• Be creative and have fun with it!

PRIZES:

2-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Tickets OR a $250 Gas Card! Awesome, right?

Now get creative and let’s see those videos!

Braces of San Diego is proud to announce that we now offer free wi-fi to our patients in both our offices! Ask the receptionist for the logon, connect and can use your smartphone, ipad and laptop with free wi-fi.