Even though, I do not advocate pacifier usage, there is a place for it. However, there is only a place for it when parents are aware of the best possible options available.
Choosing the correct pacifier can be stressful for new parents. Bearing in mind that pacifiers can cause problems such as: nipple confusion, negative impacts on denture development in infants; it is still used by most families to soothe their babies.
I personally recommend the Nuk pacifier range, due to their extensive research of the correct shape that is crucial in dental and palate development.
Here are a couple of tips for parents who feel a pacifier is a must for their infant care
1. Consider the material
– latex: hypersensitivity risk, bacterial and fungal colonisation.
Thus, I recommend that we choose SILICONE.
– silicone: No reported allergy risk, does not absorb odours, increased demand sucking stimulus (lower risk of dependence).
2. Consider the lip shield shape
– Allow nostrils to be free to breathe.
– Most adequate lip shield shape is the HEART SHAPE .
It is important to keep the shield free of spit, to prevent risk of irritation to skin.
3. The tongue should adapt as far as possible to the palate
– Shape of the teat should allow the tongue to move to the palate (be able to rise).
– A whip shape is thus important. See point 4.
– The front open bite and back crossbite should be taken into consideration and prevented
4. There are three competing shapes:
– Standard soother vs orthodontic soother vs conventional soother
Thickness of the teat is smaller with the standard and orthodontic soothers. This is what you are looking for.
The distribution of the stress on palate surface is lowest on standard and orthodontic pacifiers. Studies on pacifier force, tooth displacement, malocclusions and more show the same trend.
The study shows that standard and orthodontic soothers are best.
5. Different geometries of pacifier teat is very important
Pacifier with slim origin at the base and a thicker whipped shape at the end is showing the least force on the palate with least developmental anomaly risk of the denture development.
Resources:
Pacifiers: the right shape is crucial by Pharmawissen aktuell, 2022 et al. Springer Medizin https://www.nuk.co.uk/fileadmin/Default/specials/pacifier_study/EN/Publication_Pacifiers-the-right-shape.is-crucual.pdf
