Dummies, Pacifiers et al

Pacifiers (aka dummies) are fantastic in some irritable infants. They are effective, endorsed by paediatric bodies around the World, and do exactly what they say – pacify. So use them. But they are designed for infants – which is a shame – as we could certanily use a vesion for adults at times. But I digress, and if too much I too will also need a pacifier. So… back to medicine and pacifiers. What’s the bad ?  There is one important rule. Never ‘clean’ the dummy when it hits the ground by placing it in your bacteria ridden mouth. (A bite from a human is considered highly infectious.) One particular bacteria is responsible for early dental caries. It has a great zombie, End-of-the-World name, Streptoccocus Mutans. This bug should be avoided in infant and toddlers mouths for as long as possible to avoid tooth decay. Tooth decay in primary dentition will cause problems with permanent teeth.

The only other issue with pacifiers is holding on to them too long. They should be gone by 18months to 2 years as they can result in orthodontic issues and contribute to middle ear infections.