Soothie Pacifiers

I've found that the easiest transition to getting rid of the paci is to first limit it to bedtime/naptime and perhaps in the car. Then take it away in the car and only allow it in bed. By the time she's two you should take it away completely. I've definitely seen cases where the paci can misshape the gums.

Also, I'd skip the sippy cups alltogether, unless in a situation, like in the car, where spills would be a hassle. You have to work a little at teaching her to drink from a cup, but in the end, it'll be one less transition down the road.

Good luck!

Pacifiers, bottles, and thumb-sucking can POSSIBLY misshape their gums, but not always. It can depend on how much time they spend doing these things, and your child's physical make-up. A gradual decrease in time spent sucking is probably more likely to happen, and for you to encourage. A 16 months, I would not stress about this.

I took both of my kids off of the pacy at 12 mos. The suck reflex that the pacifier providers relief for is gone at that point. Additionally, she should begin talking soon if she hasn't already and pacifiers can cause serious speech issues (delayed and difficult to understand). If you are concerned about her gums and you'd prefer to not have to spend months negotiating with a toddler that she is too old for the pacy, dump it now. You may have about 2-3 days where it would be more convenient to just "plug 'em up" but seriously as a Daycare Provider and mother of 2 myself... there is just no need at this age.

Try to use the pacifier fairy (tip from Super Nanny). You and her take all the pacifiers (and bottles) and put them into a container so the pacifier fairy can take them to give to new babies that need them. The fairy comes over night and in return leaves some small big girl toys. I have now had three friends use this tecnique and every one of them say it has worked great. Put them all into a bag and out into the outside garbage instead of inside were she could see them. Good luck.

My daughter has dealt with this. Its not so much the Soothie brand or any particular bottle brand. Its the fact that the sucking collapses the upper jaw, causing the pallett (sp?) to conform to the shape of the nipple. My 6 year old used a Gerber binki until she was almost 2, though for the last 6 months of it, it was only at bedtime. At 5 years old, she had a pallett expander put in place. It corrected the cross-bite and gave her upper jaw room for new and bigger teeth. It wasn't painful, yet uncomfortable, and very costly ($900!). Our pediatric dentist has warned me with my 2 year old (who gave up the binki at 13 months) and my 7 month old (who still has his soothie) countless times. No advice on what to do, since we've "been there & done that" but I do know that what your doctor is saying is correct because we've lived it :)

Talk to your dentist. Federal and dental guidelines suggest that a child starts seeing a dentist when they turn two. My dentist told me that pacifiers and bootles can miss shape their upper gums and teeth. So if my kids hadn't already given up their pacifiers by their second birthdays then the "binky fairy" would come one night (after a lot of hype about her all week) and take their binky/pacifier to the "new babies that need it" and leave a special big boy/girl lovie in it's place. Usually their favorite character in extra soft form. Just make sure you collect all the binkies but one in advance. When the dentist said it could cause permentant damage it was time to go! It was more of a habit/comfort item at this point and they all took it pretty well. We just had to really hype up the "binky fairy before and after.
-H. (mother of six)

I don't have any experience with pacifiers because both of my kids refused them, I just wanted to let you know what my neighbor has done. Her daughter is 2 (3 in Oct) and still uses a pacifier. She weaned her off it during the day, but lets her use it only at night. She said that soon she is going to start to try to wean her from it completely. She just broke it up into steps instead of trying to do it cold turkey. Sorry, that doesn't really answer your question of it misshaping the gums, but maybe it could help.

our son had his nuk until he was nearly three, and the dentist didnt say one word about it when they saw him in march (he turned 3 in november).

i think this is one of those times where doctors put pressure on parents unneccesarily. its not like they will go to school with the nuk.

for my son, smearing makeup all over his face and nuk was the last straw; i told him he had gotten it dirty, and we had to throw it away and we werent going to the store for another week or two, so we werent going to get him one. he seemed to be just fine with that. other reasons you could use are chewing holes in it or something... or whatever. i think the more confident and straightforward you are the easier it is.
however, i dont know that you have to quit immediatly; maybe its time to make some rules about it though; she may only have it in bed, at nap and bedtimes. thats what my son was down to before we quit it. :P

anyway.
good luck

My 2 year old has a soothie pacifier and YES it did misshape her upper gums. However, she has had some health problems leading to lots of Dr visits, blood testing, etc... Soooooo we decided that her mouth could be fixed later and having her security was more important.

My sons both use the Soothie pacifiers ONLY (both were preemies and were used to using them from their longer stays in the hospital to get them accustomed to the suck/swallow motion). My 5 yr old used only this pacifier until he was almost three (I know...a long time, but it was a long battle giving it up) and the pediatrican knows that my 4 month old uses it now. The 5 yr old never had any misshapen issues and the pediatrican has never said anything about it either for the 4 month old. While I hope that maybe this info is inaccurate, I'll definately be keeping an eye on your post to see what the other moms say. Thanks for asking this question!