Parting with a lovey (tongue thrusting)

[3Taureans]

My 3 1/2 year old daughter had an appointment with a pediatric dentist yesterday.  He noticed that her top teeth don't overlap the bottom row when she bites down and thinks she has a tongue thrust.  DD does have a lovey that she sucks on to go to sleep at night.  It's a "Taggie" blanket (small piece of fabric with tags sewn around the perimeter), but she doesn't suck on the tags -- she crams the bulk of the fabric into her mouth.  This is her soother that she uses when she's stressed, tired, and trying to fall asleep (and has since she was a baby).  I imagine that this has the same ill-effects on her mouth development as a pacifier or thumb.

My question is two-fold:  first of all, does anyone have experience with an older child having tongue thrust issues?  DD does have a lisp, but I assumed it was typical for a 3 year old.  The dentist thought she would need speech therapy (and likely orthodontics down the road). 

I think the main hurdle to cross first is removing her lovey.  This is heart-breaking even for me!  I've tried to talk to her about not sucking on the blanket because of what the dentist said.  She understands and admits that this really upsets her.  I don't think it's reasonable to ask her to keep it, but not suck on it.  I understand it won't happen overnight, but this is such a habit that I question whether it's possible to modify that behavior while keeping the blanket in the picture.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?  Thanks much! 

[LynnS6]

How sure are YOU that her tongue thrust and lisp are due to her sucking the blanket? How much is genetics?

Both my kids are going to need braces. Ds had a pacifier until  he was 4. Dd never took a pacifier. They both have overbites, so I'm a little skeptical about the dentist's claim that ds' pacifier cause his overbite. Really? His mouth looks just like dh's!

If you're convinced that the blanket is the cause and you must ditch it -- you can do it slowly (start by restricting when/where she can use it, remove it from her mouth after she's asleep), and try to replace it with something else, or cold turkey. Cold turkey is probably more painful in the short term, but easier in the long run. We did ds' pacifier cold turkey inadvertently because we lost it. By the time it was found, he didn't need it anymore. He was four, however, not 3.

[3Taureans]

Originally Posted by LynnS6 

How sure are YOU that her tongue thrust and lisp are due to her sucking the blanket? How much is genetics?

Both my kids are going to need braces. Ds had a pacifier until  he was 4. Dd never took a pacifier. They both have overbites, so I'm a little skeptical about the dentist's claim that ds' pacifier cause his overbite. Really? His mouth looks just like dh's!

If you're convinced that the blanket is the cause and you must ditch it -- you can do it slowly (start by restricting when/where she can use it, remove it from her mouth after she's asleep), and try to replace it with something else, or cold turkey. Cold turkey is probably more painful in the short term, but easier in the long run. We did ds' pacifier cold turkey inadvertently because we lost it. By the time it was found, he didn't need it anymore. He was four, however, not 3.

I'm not sure at all that this is due to the blanket.  I guess the line was drawn between the two because the dentist asked if she used a pacifier or sucked her thumb (his first question after looking at her bite).  I said no, but that she sucks on a blanket.  I also assume that both of my kids will need orthodontics since DH and I both did.  However, I'm concerned about the speech element of the tongue thrust.  Thanks for the tips.  The day to ditch the blanket will come regardless, so this is helpful!

[pbjmama]

I would get a consult with a speech therapist before moving forward. They deal with kids who have a variety of issues, including sucking and mouthing different objects and will probably have some tips for you.

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My daughter had the tongue thrust.  By age four, it was probably too late anyway.  She had a pacifier til she was over three and a half.

By age six, it was more obvious.  (the little lisp) and by age 10, her teeth were awful.  The top teeth stuck out so far that I knew her orthodontist work was going to be extensive.    And it was.

We tried a speech therapist in 1st grade, but since the lisp wasn't as bad as most, the speech teacher released her from therapy soon after she started.  

It was a nightmare for a while.  Most of fifth grade was hard with all the metal she had in her mouth.  There were lots of tears, and a few days of missed school, and her begging me to let her get them taken off.  But, she rode it out, and has a beautiful smile now.   She would have needed braces anyway.  But, if I hadn't let her keep the pacifier for so long, she wouldn't have needed all the other hardware in her mouth, so I had some major guilt.

Honestly though, I am not sure the blanket is the cause of this.  You would know better than us.  If you really think that's it, go ahead and take it away.  But, i'd talk to a speech therapist first.  Make sure this will fix it.  If not, i'd leave it alone.