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Dental Care Tips for Your Child: Will Pacifiers Harm Teeth?

do pacifiers harm teeth; will soothers harm teeth; getting rid of soothers

Pacifiers, or soothers, are often given to babies during rest or when the infant is finished feeding but wants to continue sucking.  Will pacifiers harm teeth? What do you need to know about pacifiers? How do you know when to stop using one? How do you help your kid quit? Kits Family Dental has a few tips:

  • Make sure that breastfeeding is well-established.
  • Choose a pacifier that’s the right size for your baby’s mouth.
  • Check the pacifier nipple often – if it’s sticky, cracked, or torn, throw it away!
  • Clean the pacifier with water.  You can pass on germs that cause tooth decay to your child if you put the soother in your own mouth to clean it!
  • Don’t get into the habit of dipping soothers in honey or other sweet substances – this can cause tooth decay!
  • Pacifiers are not recommended once all the baby teeth have grown in, which usually happens when the child is about 3 years old.

When it’s time to help wean your child off using their pacifier, here’s a great technique called Snip the Tip:

Snip the Tip:

Cut a few millimetres off the rubber tip of the pacifier each week until there’s no rubber tip left.  The cut end of the pacifier will be less comfortable in your child’s mouth, and since the tip gets shorter and shorter as time goes on, eventually there will be nothing left in their mouths to suck on and you’ll be able to take the pacifier away completely.

As usual, feel free to come in to our dental office in Kitsilano, Vancouver and ask if you have further questions or concerns!

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