YOUR PEDIATRIC DENTIST IN MIDLAND SAYS TO STOP PACIFYING!

It’s important to teach your kids to keep their fingers and odd objects out of their mouth—even when it comes to thumb sucking or even a pacifier. This simple rule could save their teeth!

Learn more about how your pediatric dentist in Midland can help you and your little one stop relying on alternative ways to cope with your child’s stress in order to improve their oral health.

Why It’s Important to Keep Foreign Objects Out of Your Child’s Mouth

When you constantly have an object in your child’s mouth, the shape of your child’s mouth and the alignment of their teeth can be changed depending on the position of that object. Since baby’s and toddler’s mouths mature extremely fast, their jaws may grow around anything that’s consistently in their mouth—that goes for thumbs, pacifiers, or other soothing objects.

As the front teeth develop, starting the foundation of a child’s smile, they may form around the thumb or pacifier. This can cause misalignment and even protruding teeth. Problems with the position of teeth and misalignments can occur from the very beginning or develop overtime.

Dental Problems Can Be Avoided with Parents Help

You might think it’s worth it to have your child suck on a pacifier for a moment of silence, but ask yourself, “is my child’s smile going to suffer in the long run?” The answer could be yes! If you can, you should try to help your little one deal with their distress in different, natural ways to calm down and cope.

Break the Habit!

There are a few ways that you can help your child gradually shy away from pacifiers and thumb sucking.

Positive reinforcement is one of the best ways to encourage a better habit in place of a bad one. Whenever you see your child not sucking their thumb, praise them and make them feel like a million bucks for practicing something that’s better for their oral health.

A helpful tip to remember is that it won’t help to punish your child when they suck their thumb. In fact, they could turn towards their thumb more often to deal with the stress of the punishment.

Sometimes, it can even be helpful to help your little one cope with their stress with extra hugs and kisses on the cheek.

Overall, remember that your child depends on you to lead the way when it comes to great health decisions—including your oral health. Even if they don’t cooperate, parents always know what’s best!

About Our Office

Here at Midland Kid’s Dentist, we want all patients to have healthy mouths from the first time they visit us—even if they’re infants! You can get the professional assistance you need to make sure your child’s smile develops correctly and strongly. Contact your children’s dentist in Midland for more information about pediatric dentistry and the best dental practices to try at home.