some thoughts about pacifiers

[go_romanovs]

I hear it a lot - "As long as you use the right type of pacifier, it is not going to affect the baby's jaw development." That's what the manufacturers of pacifiers say.

The truth is that they ALL affect the jaw development. Touch your nipple, squeeze it, pull on it (he-he).. and now do the same to any pacifier. Do you see the difference? We are yet to discover a material that is just as soft and mold-able as mom's breast. Moms breast, when it baby's mouth, molds into it. It changes it's shape to fit inside the baby's mouth. A pacifier or a bottle nipple DON'T. So the baby's jaw slowly starts shaping around the pacifier.

In our society where the pacifier use is SO so common, that our dentists and other professionals are taking the paci mouth for a norm. They say it's ok, unless they see some major malocclusion's that just look BAD.

This all is really well described with bunch of pictures on the website of Brian Palmer. He shows a jaw of some prehistoric sculls and then jaws of some.. I don't remember some Indians or some other people who never sucked on anything but their mother's breast - they both have wide beautiful arches. And then pics of paci mouths - totally can see the difference now after I have studied the website. It is not just about how straight the teeth look, it is also about that arch. When the arch gets distorted, the inner organs shift too, making the breathing passages narrower, which may result in sleep apnea. May be in some people it doesn't make much of a difference. May be it doesn't make much of a difference until the grown up teeth come in..  I don't know..
But I think it helps to know this information before giving your child a pacifier. I so wish our pediatritians would inform the mothers about possible side effects.

[tiffanyderr10]

May. 31, 2009 at 3:01 PM

My son was stuck on his, binkie as we call it, until he was 2 1/2.  It was hard to get him off of it, but once we took them all away and throw them out, it was the best thing that could have happened!  He doesn't fuss for it anymore and he has no attachment to it whatsoever.  It feels good to accomplish such a feat and I won't be giving our new baby one.  Since going through it once with one child, I know the mistake of what not to do!  I have seen kids who are 4, 5, 6 years old with binkies in their mouths, I just so badly want to ask their mother's if they really know just how bad those things are for their children! 

[go_romanovs]

May. 31, 2009 at 11:12 PM

Well, that's great that you guys are off of it! :) and that you are so determined to do without it next time around.
I do know moms who, knowing all the downsides, made an informed decision to give their babies a pacifier. I can so understand it in some situations, like a car for example. I have 3 kids now and when our baby would scream, the older kids (I LOVE THEM :) would sing songs to her and gave her their CLEAN pinkies to suck on - I love having 3 children IMHO, it's much easier than 1 LOL..

Back to our topic... :) some kids have an intense desire to suck ALL THE TIME, and they would be fussy and would get mad when the milk is coming out because they are not hungry anymore, and the mom's pinky is falling off already, and she needs just a few minutes to get her sanity... and out (or should I say 'in') comes the binkie.

The problems usually arises when it is abused, when the parents think nothing of it and don't know what harm it may bring.

(Original Poster)