Medicine: Thumbs Out!

Thumb-sucking is a hotly controversial subject. Most psychologists believe (and most dentists strongly disagree) that the danger of mental damage in breaking a child of the habit is greater than the danger of dental damage from allowing it. The experts' quarrel leaves the mother in a dilemma.

In the July Journal of the American Dental Association, Dentist Edward S. Mack of San Francisco puts in a strong case for the do-something-about-it school. He admits that interfering with the habit causes frustration. But, he argues, so does toilet training or teaching a child not...

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