At DD's first dentist appointment about a week ago, the dentist seemed concerned about her thumb-sucking habit. It is a self-soothing thing that she uses to fall asleep, and sometimes throughout the day when she is a upset, nervous, or tired. It is not constant and the thumb falls out as soon as she's asleep, so I haven't been too worried.
I did try to discourage it for awhile by reason and telling her not to suck her thumbs, but it kind of became a tease or game to her. I tried to bribe her with pretty nail polish, but then she'd tell me to take off the nail polish when she wanted to suck her thumb. I tried band-aids, but I got nervous when they came off in her sleep and worried she'd swallow one.
So, the dentist recommended Mavala Stop and I bought it from the office. OMG! First night trying to use it and it has been TOUGH! DD is drooling and spitting all over the place. She drank so much milk and water, she had to pee twice before she could fall asleep. After midnight, I finally used nail polish remover and washed her hands and brushed her teeth and tongue again so we could try to get her to sleep. She went to bed holding a washcloth for all her spit and drool. DH thought it was cruel.

Has anyone else tried this Mavala Stop product with good results? There are over 3,000 reviews on Amazon and 4.5 stars, but I'm worried about some of the reviews for 2 year olds. At the same time, the dentist seems to want us to curb this habit asap.

Anyone successfully stop thumb-sucking around 2.5 y/o? Tips?