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Soothing your toddler is an instinct that comes with becoming a parent. No one wants to see their child suffering when you can help using a pacifier. WebMD identifies the many different benefits pacifiers have for your toddler. They lower the risk of SIDS, ensure the baby satisfies the need to continuous suck reflex and provides the children with a way to soothe themselves.
However, continuous use of the pacifier can result in underdevelopment or wrong teeth development for your child. Besides, it interferes with oral health and teeth alignment as they grow older. Here is how pacifying your toddler can harm and prevent proper teeth development.
Anterior Open Bites
Pacifiers can result in huge gaps between the toddler’s upper and the lower incisors or the anterior open bite. It is a condition that prevents the front teeth from touching or overlapping. It commonly results from using a pacifier for one-and-a-half years or more. Rectifying the problem involves weaning your child off their pacifiers before permanent teeth erupt. That way, they have a chance of correcting themselves and preventing the open bite.
Posterior Crossbites
Children's bones are soft and can mold to any specific shape or object. Prolonged use of pacifiers results in permanent teeth erupting, and decaying to the form hindering their path. The mold causes a massive gap in the back teeth preventing them from biting anything together. This condition is known as posterior crossbites, and it affects many individuals.
Intervening and reducing your child’s use of pacifiers or any other objects to sooth themselves past three years of age is essential. It ensures that permanent teeth align themselves perfectly and avoid an increase in corrective procedure costs in the future. Besides, starting the pacifier intervention early enough is key to the development of healthy teeth for your young one.
Tooth Decay
Sometimes, children need a sweetener on their pacifiers. They come across sugar, jam, and even honey and dip their pacifiers before sucking them. It entertains the child to do this, but it also causes rapid tooth decay.
Bacteria that may attach to the pacifier can increase the rate at which your child’s teeth decay. In combination with a sugary eating routine, the condition becomes worse. It then calls for you to see the dentist, which can be scary for your kid. Also, it can impact negatively on the erupting permanent teeth causing an early rot. It means that you have to seek expensive tooth repair services at a very young age.
You can prevent tooth decay by cleaning your baby’s pacifier thoroughly and avoid sharing the pacifier with other children. Do not dip the pacifier in sugary substances. Most importantly, get rid of the pacifier by weaning your child out of it gradually.
Visit The Dentist Regularly
Once your baby’s first tooth shows, it indicates the need to see a dentist. Therefore, visiting a dentist practicing sedation dentistry is recommended in case a dental procedure is required, even for your young ones. It makes the visit more pleasant and reduces the fear in a child.
Dentists have a pool of information in regards to oral health. They will offer advice on how to stop your child from using the pacifier and what to do in case the teeth already are coming out and are out of shape or misaligned. They also advise the proper oral care for your young one as they grow.
Gather Pacifier-Weaning Information And Tips
Even though using the pacifier is a learned habit or behavior, it might present difficulties when trying to wean your baby off it. Therefore, gathering information and tips on how to discourage your child from using the pacifier is crucial. Otherwise, you might cause your child trauma through forceful weaning before the right time. Here are the tips:
- Seek information from other parents in the community around you on their experiences with pacifier weaning.
- Have a long talk with a dentist on how to prevent long-term use of the pacifier and possible tooth decay.
- Go online and seek information on pacifiers, their positives, negatives, weaning time, and possibilities, among others.
- Read storybooks, sing, or try an activity that helps your child go to sleep other than using a pacifier. It will help your child in falling asleep, preventing them from using a pacifier.
- Introduce your child to oral health care at an early age by helping them clean their teeth. You can even get the soft toothbrushes to clean their teeth.
Conclusion
Pacifiers are a vital part of any child's life. However, if they impede teeth development, it is crucial to wean the pacifiers at the right time. It will not only prevent possible teeth disorders but will ensure proper oral care. With that, parents should keep on trying to have their kids leave the pacifiers behind.
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Written By:
Jessica Smith is an avid reader who enjoys getting lost in the world of books. Holding on to her passion for fitness, she believes that a healthy diet is a key to healthy living.
Reviewed By:
Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.
