Is It Good to Give Your Kids Pacifiers? Does it badly affect the shape of their teeth? Check the Facts!
Introduction:
We all have used pacifiers and thumb suckers at some point in our lives, either while we were kids or after we had the kids. This is a very common practice and parents give these to soothe their kids and keep them engaged. Some parents avoid pacifiers and let their kids suck their thumbs whereas some give them pacifiers to stop them from thumb sucking.
There is a lot of confusion between these two & as raising a child is quite tough, & it becomes hard to advise parents about it. The only thing they know is that it is unhygienic to give your kids pacifiers and let them suck thumbs. Well, the truth is that there is a lot more than this.
Is it correct to give your child a pacifier or let him suck his thumb?
It is not a good practice to give your child these things or allow him to suck the thumb because firstly these are unhygienic & secondly it badly affects the shape of their teeth. As in a common case, teething starts when your child is a few months old like 6 or 7 months & after that, you will see a new tooth after every two or three weeks. If you do not stop giving him the pacifier, it will continue to harm the shape of his teeth making it tough to manage if left ignored.
What are the significant issues that arise due to pacifiers and thumb sucking?
There are a few issues that are mainly caused due to the use of pacifiers or by the kids that are habitual of thumb-sucking.
First:
- Kids who always keep a pacifier in their mouth face the issue of protruding front teeth. The pacifiers put pressure on the front teeth, changing their position to tilt and come out a bit. The doctors even call them buck teeth or pacifier teeth. The worse thing is that such teeth are more prone to injury and can result in speech issues. Some kids cannot even close their lips and mouth just because they have pacifier teeth. So, if you are living in Beverly Hills, make sure you call the best Dentist Beverly Hills Wilshire & book an appointment without any delay.
Second:
- You might have heard about the term – crossbite. It is caused because the upper teeth section sits inside the lower section. The kids who keep sucking their thumb or use the pacifiers are always found with posterior crossbite that narrows down the upper arch. Due to this, the child may suffer from excruciating jaw pain and enamel issues. Thus, it is better to find a good dentist who can help your child to get rid of this trouble and ease all that pain.
Third:
- Do you know what an Open bite is? It is a condition when your child cannot overlap his upper teeth with the bottom ones while closing the jaw. Some kids even fail to let their teeth touch which leaves a wide gap between the lower and the upper arch. Such kids face lifelong issues while speaking, chewing, and swallowing. In case they get the treatment on time, it can help them with normal tooth overlapping making it easy to speak, chew and swallow.
Should we use Orthodontic Pacifiers for our kids?
Well, as mentioned above, we should avoid using pacifiers for kids with teeth. It can cause a lot of issues, but if you are still trying to make your child stop using it, you can use Orthodontic pacifiers. you can use these for some time till your kid learns not to use them and then totally stop giving them to your child. These products are not advisable for kids of any age group.
What are the ways by which you can make your kids stop using these things?
If you are thinking that there are some medicines or other techniques that can help you keep your child away from pacifiers, then you are completely wrong. As a parent, it completely depends on you for the things that you should introduce to your child. If you have already made him dependent on a pacifier, then it’s quite tough to keep him away. It becomes a source of help for the kids who are breastfed. They treat a pacifier as a nipple and stay happy when they have it in their mouth.
So, you should avoid introducing pacifiers to your kids.
Conclusion:
Hence, we can conclude that pacifiers are not at all good for your kids, and parents who are making their kids dependent on them are doing no good to them. These affect the shape, size, position, and growth of their teeth. On the other hand, if your child is already suffering from the side effects of using pacifiers and thumb sucking, then it’s better that you find the best dentist for the treatment. You should not wait anymore and start the treatment as per advised by the doctor. It will prevent further issues and protect your child’s teeth from some serious damage.
