Thumb sucker wont take dummy

Mac is almost 11 weeks old and has started sucking his thumb.

Both DP and I have spent what I would consider an extensive amount of time trying to get him to take a dummy and we've tried a few different brands. He simply pushes it back out if we hold it there and spits it out.

I don't want his teeth to be wrecked. What can I do to stop thumb sucking?

He does it near the end of his sleeps so I wonder if he's hungry but won't/can't/ isn't ready to wake up. Should I try waking him earlier? He's sleeping 3-4 hours at a time and awake for an hour in between.

I started this discussion in my "Due in...." forum recently because Kiara is not interested in the dummy (does the same as your boy) and she found her thumb at about 3 weeks old.  I too am worried about the teeth and soft palate shape but also that you can take away a dummy but not a thumb.  Anyway, my lot all pretty much posted a similar responses to Mamma2N - that they or their siblings sucked their thumb and didn't have any teeth problems.  Now I'm less concerned about it, but I still poke it in there every now and then anyway in the hope she'll take it.  So no advice from me, but I'll keep an eye out in here to see what suggestions do get offered.

We're a bit worried about it as DP sucked his thumb until he was 14. He use to do it in secret.

He ended up needing braces.

Not sure if thumb sucking is a hereditary thing or not.

Joel was exactly like this........he is now nearly 19months and still a HUGE thumb sucker! He thinks its funny if we take his thumb out of his mouth, he only does it when he is tired though.

Leah was a dummy girl and she was 2.5 by the time she stopped the dummy.

One of the girls in my coffee group has finally managed to wean her daughter 3.5yrs off the dummy and I noticed today that she was sucking her thumb instead!