27 Jun The Effects of Pacifiers and Thumb Sucking on Children’s Teeth
When the crying finally stops and silence descends, it’s like magic. Self-soothing mechanisms like thumb sucking or pacifiers are important and normal behaviors that help babies learn to calm themselves without parent intervention.
But while these behaviors are a normal part of early childhood, they shouldn’t be a constant habit. If your child has their fingers or a pacifier in their mouth for the majority of the day and night, it can have some long-lasting effects on their dental development and oral health.
Four Reasons Not to Let Thumb Sucking or Pacifiers Become a Habit
1: Changes to the Shape of Your Child’s Mouth
Babies and small children are constantly growing, so their mouths are constantly changing as well. Prolonged use of a pacifier or sucking on their thumb can influence the shape your child’s mouth takes and cause problems like overbites and gapped teeth.
2: Bite Problems
Open bites are when the teeth do not overlap; this can cause speech issues, problems swallowing, and difficulty with chewing. A crossbite is when the upper teeth fit inside the lower teeth. This can make the entire jaw shift to one side, causing improper growth of the jaw, teeth, and other facial structures.
3: Misaligned Teeth
The most common tooth misalignment is protruding front teeth, where the front teeth flare outward from the gums rather than straight down. This makes it uncomfortable for children to close their mouths, eat, and create certain sounds.
4: Increased Risk of Cavities
Every time a child puts their pacifier or thumb into their mouth, they are introducing bacteria into their bodies. While it might be a small amount, and potentially good for their immune system, it can lead to a higher risk of cavities and oral infections like thrush. Pacifiers can also trap milk sugars and food debris, giving cavity-causing bacteria more fuel to damage the enamel on little teeth.
How to Gently Help Your Child Break the Habit
Non-nutritive sucking isn’t entirely bad. It makes naptimes and bed time easier, reduces the child’s cortisol levels, and grants their parents some much-needed quiet time. However, your child should really only use these methods when they are self-soothing for sleep, or are overly upset.
But once they reach age two, it is time to consider gently redirecting their self-soothing habits. Remember, this is how your child copes with stress, so concentrate on gentle redirections or distractions. Never raise your voice, remove their hands or pacifiers forcefully, or scold them for mistakes.
Weaning Toddlers Off the Pacifier or Thumb
For younger children, start by only allowing the behavior during rest. For example, at night or during nap times. For pacifier use, this could be telling them their pacifier needs to sleep during the day and leaving it in their bed. For thumbsuckers, use gentle reminders to take their hands out of their mouth.
Watch for triggers, then redirect their actions. Take some time to notice when they ask for the pacifier or start to suck their thumb. Then the next time you notice the trigger, hand them a fidget toy or stuffed animal instead.
It is also important to remember most toddlers are still getting teeth! Their thumbsucking or pacifier use could be teething related and a cold teether could help soothe the soreness, then replace the chewy with a toy.
Helping Preschoolers Say Goodbye to the Pacifier
Older children may benefit from saying “goodbye” to their pacifiers. This could look like throwing a farewell party for the pacifiers and packing them away together. Or give them to the pacifier fairy! Gather up all the pacifiers and put them in a gift bag. Once they fall asleep, replace the pacifiers with a thank you note or a gift from the pacifier fairy.
For persistent pacifier users, carefully poke a hole or cut away the bottom of the nub to reduce the suction, which is often what children find the most soothing. After a few failed attempts, they may just forgo the pacifier. Just don’t forget to sanitize pacifiers every day, to get rid of bacteria and germs.
For persistent thumbsuckers, try a non-toxic, bitter-tasting nail polish, and praise them every time they take their thumb out of their mouth. Putting bandages on their thumbs or mittens on their hands can help older children to keep their hands away from their mouths.
Have Concerns About Your Child’s Mouth? Hicks Dental Group Can Help
Thumb sucking and pacifiers can harm your child’s dental development if they’re allowed to continue for too long. They can cause problems like overbites and gapped teeth, as well as an increased risk of cavities. So if your little one is a thumb sucker or has a pacifier fixation, it’s important to get dental exams on a regular basis.
Our family dentists can check to see if there are any changes and recommend more ways to get your child to stop. Contact Hicks Dental Group in Prescott to make an appointment today.
Photo by Martin Dubé on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 6/8/26.