Reply to At wit's end with pacifier for 2 year old. Are they really that bad?

Forum Index » Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers

Reply to "At wit's end with pacifier for 2 year old. Are they really that bad?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Extended pacifier use causes a risk of damage to your child's teeth and bite.  The Journal of the American Dentist Association found:

Extended pacifier use causes a misalignment of the upper and lower jaws. The roof of the mouth becomes narrower, so there is less room for incoming teeth to fit. The upper teeth start to slant outward, and the bottom teeth tilt inward. This can manifest as an anterior open bite in some children and a posterior crossbite in others. These effects can occur in both the baby teeth and in the permanent teeth if the damage shifts the entire jaw.

Dr. Sears opines that "extended pacifier use can, more likely than not, cause dental problems. The extra pressure exerted during sucking can cause dental malalignment (known as an open bite). Overbites are more common with thumbsucking than with pacifier use, but the risk is still there."

The Mayo Clinic has opined that "prolonged pacifier use might cause a child's top front teeth to slant outward or not come in properly."

Does this mean that it will happen to ever child that uses a pacifier for a prolonged time?  No.  But medical practitioner have opined that there is risk to dental development, and thus, there is a valid reason to wean from the pacifier.  It isn't just something that parents do because they're mean and don't want the child to have a comfort object. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics