{"id":64,"date":"2023-03-05T02:12:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-05T02:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=64"},"modified":"2025-04-18T19:53:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T19:53:45","slug":"can-pacifiers-affect-my-childs-oral-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthykidsdentistry.com\/blog\/can-pacifiers-affect-my-childs-oral-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Pacifiers Affect My Child\u2019s Oral Health?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"toddler<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Pediatric dentistry<\/a> tends to be a specialty distinct from other kinds of dental care because young people\u2019s growing jaws require specific knowledge to treat effectively. With that in mind, it\u2019s no surprise that many parents struggle to make decisions regarding their children\u2019s oral health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first choices parents have to make regarding their kids\u2019 teeth is when to use a pacifier, and when to help their kids wean off. You may have heard that excessive pacifier use can affect your child\u2019s teeth; here\u2019s what you should know about the impact that it may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Pacifier Use for Toddlers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First of all, it\u2019s worth noting that using a pacifier has many well-established health benefits for kids. Toddlers often need them to sleep soundly, which can improve their mood (and make their parents\u2019 job much easier).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also some evidence that pacifier use can help stave off SIDS, which will put any parent at ease. Finally, pacifier use can make the difficult process of weaning much easier, for both young children and their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Should Children Wean Off Their Pacifier?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, past a certain age, the pacifier has a real chance to affect your child\u2019s long-term oral health. For that reason, many dental professionals recommend beginning to wean your child off of the pacifier as early as age two. Others feel this is too early, however, and would tend to recommend that you wean later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just about every dental professional agrees that children should be weaned completely by the age of four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can Pacifiers Affect Oral Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Problems begin when your child\u2019s jaw starts serious development. If your child continues to use their pacifier excessively past a certain point, there\u2019s a risk that their mouth could start to take the shape of the pacifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in life, this could turn into an open bite, where the child\u2019s top teeth don\u2019t meet the bottom teeth. In fact, when you look at pictures of people with open bites, it almost looks like they have a pacifier-shaped hole in their teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While pacifier use is incredibly important, it\u2019s also good to know when your child should be weaned off of their pacifier. Hopefully, this guide gave you a sense of when you should do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Our Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Healthy Kids Pediatric Dentistry, we believe the best way to keep children\u2019s smiles healthy is not just by providing excellent dentistry, but by giving kids an environment that they\u2019ll actually want to keep coming back to. We\u2019re not just a team of qualified dentists; we genuinely love the work that we do and care about the happiness of our patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any questions about pacifier use, we can be reached at our website<\/a> or by phone at (301) 871-8880.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pediatric dentistry tends to be a specialty distinct from other kinds of dental care because young people\u2019s growing jaws require specific knowledge to treat effectively. With that in mind, it\u2019s no surprise that many parents struggle to make decisions regarding their children\u2019s oral health. One of the first choices parents have to make regarding their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Pacifiers Affect Children's Oral Health | Healthy Kids Pediatric Dentistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pacifier use is an important part of kids\u2019 development. 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