For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 16, 2020

My Dad would have slapped me if I shouted like that

Elizabeth is every bit as loud as April!

good luck, Elizabeth, on trying to stop sucking your thumb and trying to worm out of not wanting to be in the appliance

This is the worse case scenario when your father is a dentist. He gets mad at you and as a punishment takes you right then and there to his dental office to get dental work. You know who should not be doing dental work – angry fathers. I would rate the angry dentist father right up there with the Nazi dentist in Marathon Man and the biker dentist in Little Shop of Horrors as dentists I would never want to work on my mouth.

Frankly, it’s amazing John does not resort to this punishment more often. I think it would be very effective.

“If you don’t clean your room right now, Michael, I am going to take you in for a fluoride treatment and then I am going to clean your teeth with the sharpest tartar scraper we have. I might not even sterilize it first!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!”

I wish I had been able to get my teeth straightened when I was a kid. My parents couldn’t afford it. Only the rich kids got braces. Now I think it’s a constitutional right.

John’s freaking me out.

When it comes to thumb sucking, never talk back to your father when he’s a dentist.

Panel 2 to 3 doesn’t flow that well..

Is she about to get braces?

Kids have to learn how to respect not only their parents but all people and if you let them get away with such behavior they will never learn. There any many ways, for one he could have taken the time to explain to her what the appliance is, she has all fearful thoughts of chains and such. Explained that if you swallow gum while asleep you can choke to death.

Lynn’s Comments:

This thumb sucking appliance is a small metal wire contraption that is glued into a child’s mouth. This tiny appliance has tiny prongs on it which makes sucking uncomfortable and (hopefully) breaks the habit. Too bad there isn’t something similar for smoking!

I wonder what exactly the appliance is to make someone stop thumb sucking. I remember this story arc from last time and wondered about that. Couldn’t she still get her thumb in her mouth? It’s not like he’d be wiring her jaw shut.

So no means no, but NO means you’re in big trouble. I think that’s pretty much the same in dog language.

I wouldn’t even get around to thinking about yelling ANYthing at or to my Dad!

They are making to much over thumb sucking. Its done in private and no one realized it until a couple of days ago. Kids usually suck their thumb when they are insecure and keeping mentioning it, threatening some type of appliance to stop it only makes matters worse. Ignore it and it will go away.

I am going to take the opposing viewpoint. Yes, Elizabeth violated the Fifth Commandment “Honor thy mother and father”. Her one-word outburst seemed to be out of shock and fear, as evidenced by the strip the other day which imagined her being restrained in some gothic contraction. However, keep in mind there was a strip where Elly was concerned about Michael spending too much time with his girlfriend. Michael freshmouths his mother by saying “Gee Mom, do you want to discuss birth control”. That freshmouthed remark was also worthy of censure, as Michael thought it out and figured he was smarter than his mother. Should Michael have been slapped as well?

You said a mouthful baby!!!

Just asking: Does thumb sucking cause “Buck Teeth”? No kids….just curious…. :^)

If you didn’t have a mouth, what other body openings are there to put food in?

Especially the tongue, according to the Epistle of James.

Way to go Liz! At least they didn’t have to peel you off of the wall after that mistake!

I had a dental appointment today. Takes me longer to drive there, than to complete the procedure. When they say dentistry is painless now a days, don’t believe it! Something will always hurt you. Then comes to paying the bill. That hurts, too.

LOL! A minor Google search reveals quite a bit about such appliances.

1. It cannot be done in a single visit. Impressions are made and a lab creates the device.

2. There are several different types: The one described by Lynn is called a “Hay Rake” and has small prongs that poke into the fleshy part of the thumb. There is also a “Thumb Crib” that prevents suction and pressure of a sucking sensation. And third is the “Bluegrass” which places a tiny roller behind the front teeth for the tongue to play with in place of a thumb.

The Hay Rake is considered a punitive therapy which “punishes” the thumb for being where it doesn’t belong. The Thumb Crib removes the stimulus associated with thumb sucking and the child just gives up on it. The Bluegrass is considered positive reinforcement because it gives the child something else to do besides thumb sucking. The article says it is effective as a deterrent, but I have my doubts.

And lastly, these things can cost $900 to $2500 depending on where you live. Cheaper in the long run than braces, I guess.

Oh, one more thing. They also make removable devices, but the article I read says that they are not very effective because the child just takes it out at will.

Looks like appliance time is official.

The bigger the mouth, the smaller the brain.