As pediatric dentists, we are constantly facing the age-old question: “When do I need to take the pacifier away from my child?”
Pacifier Help Is On The Way……
Since the pacifier can sometimes mean the difference between parental sanity and utter chaos, our response to the question is met with dread. Of course, the answer is not always simple. One child can use a pacifier day and night until four years old without any notable changes in the bite, teeth, or jaw structure. Another child may just use it to fall asleep and may have significant changes to the mouth.
So, we thought we would mention some general guidelines to help during this challenging time:
- Generally speaking, the more you suck, the more changes to the bite will occur. So, do your best to keep pacifiers sequestered in the crib.
- Don’t clip the pacifier to your child’s shirt. This makes it too tempting and easy to use. (imagine you are trying to diet and you are walking around with a pie in your purse)
- Using pacifiers that have a stuffed animal hanging off the back end is not recommended. While cute, it adds weight to the pacifier, encouraging more vigorous sucking to keep it in place. The more passive the suck, the less changes will be noted in the bite.
- The brand or kind of pacifier does not make a real difference. What matters is frequency, duration, and intensity of sucking.
At your child’s dental visit, the doctors will discuss the pacifier use in greater detail and can tailor a plan to meet your child’s needs.