When to stop, from Bernard and Eimer Orthodontics

Most young children keep something in their mouth to soothe or comfort them. After breast feeding and the bottle, that something is usually a “pacifier”. There are even “orthodontic pacifiers” with a shape which is supposed to help in proper upper arch formation although this has never been proven.

The problem with a pacifier is that it will cause an openbite or prevent the upper and lower teeth from coming in contact which effects chewing and speech and can develop poor and harmful tongue posture. To prevent this condition permanently, the pacifier should be stopped at 18 months.

My daughter had a 5 mm openbite (measured from upper to lower front teeth) from her pacifier or “binky” at 22 months. The solution was to take it away and hide it! After one week of withdrawal (crying, restlessness), the habit was broken and after two weeks, the front teeth were touching!

Of course, a finger or thumb habit is harder to stop because you can’t take it away like a pacifier. More later on when to stop that harmful habit.