Love Pacifiers:
Pacifiers are a beneficial part of the swallowing processes for new born infants or infants with swallowing difficulties in order for them to develop a strong non-nutitive suck (NNS). NNS is believed to aid in the transition from garage feeding to nipple feeding. Usually a pacifier is used in initiating this, but a finger can also be used. The benefits of NNS are faster transition to bottle feeding, higher sucking pressure and sucks per burst (preterm infants: 2-5 sucks per burst/ normal: 10-30 sucks per burst), and improved state of regulation.
Dislike Pacifiers:
According to the American Dental Association children 3-5 years old who are still utilizing a pacifier tend to have an anterior open bite, posterior cross bite, mean over jet, and smaller inter canine distance of the upper arch. So how does this affect the jobs of SLPs? Most children who present with these malocclusions tend to have articulatory difficulties; especially with the fricative and alveolar phonemes. In addition to the articulation being affected, if an infant uses a pacifier for an abundance of time this can obstruct the oral cavity and cause a delay in babbling and imitation of sounds/words. The World Health Organization also reported a positive correlation between pacifier use and an increase incidence of otitis media.
These are just a few reasons to like or dislike pacifiers. Have you had a patient that uses a pacifier? If so how did it positively or negatively affect your treatment?
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Hey ladies this is a great topic, I usually tell moms that when they can walk upright and drink from open cups, they should discontinue pacifiers. But now I can add the info regarding the ADA warning as well. Great share :)
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