We all know how much babies love their pacifiers. As they grow older it is something your child will grow out of. However, many parents wonder what time they should begin to ease it off them and the adverse oral health effects that can result from pacifier use. We have outlined below information that can help you make educated decisions about your child’s pacifier use. 

The Effects of Pacifiers on a Child’s Dental Health:

Some abnormalities that can occur from pacifier use include: 

• Changes in the root and improper development of the mouth. 
• Malformation of teeth as they develop.
• Speech and alignment issues.
• Aggressive sucking can cause issues with a child’s baby teeth. 

What about Thumb Sucking?

Thumb-sucking may seem like a better choice to allow your child to do over using a pacifier, however the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends the pacifier. This is because it is much easier to control when your child can use a pacifier versus when they can use their thumbs since they are always attached. 

Breaking your Child’s Sucking Habits

Pacifiers are healthy for young babies/children to use to a certain extent. Around the 2 year mark is a good place to try to gradually wean them off them. The dental effects of pacifiers will not necessarily be clear right away. Changes within a child’s oral health are actually more likely to be seen once they reach age around 4 years of age. 

There are a variety of methods you can use to try to prevent the continuation of your child’s sucking habits. It is important to note that all of these methods involve positive reinforcement for your child’s behavior. This means you want to let your child know that they are doing a good job and feel good about going without sucking for a certain amount of time. For example, if they go a night without sucking their thumb or using their pacifier, reward them with some sort of prize. This can be a gift, doing one of their favorite activities with them, going somewhere fun, giving them with some extra attention, etc. Help them feel comfortable and happy without the habit to assist them in stopping. 

Helpful Tips

Here are some other little bits of information for you that can help:

• Clean their pacifiers regularly. Don’t use ones with liquid interiors.
• “Accidentally” forget to bring the pacifier with you on certain occasions to get them used to not having a pacifier around.
• Don’t punish your child! Negative reinforcement can lead to them doing the activity more out of stress or even resentment. 
• If your baby/toddler is still young it is fine that they suck their thumb or use a pacifier. Unless your child is leaning more towards being an older toddler, let them enjoy their routine while they still have it. 

You can call us or talk to your dentist about more information regarding the impacts of pacifiers on toddlers and ways you can try to get them to stop using one once the time comes.