Moms,
Has anyone experienced their child getting an open bite deformity from using a pacifier? Our son is 2 1/4, and still uses his 'nuk.' We were waiting until he got tubes in his ears to wean him from it, and he finally got his tubes last week. When he got his pre-op visit, the ear specialist asked if he sucked his thumb, and we said, "no, but he still uses a nuk." She said, ok- that's why he has this bite issue. Basically, his teeth in the front don't close all the way when he bites.
Will his bite go back to normal, either while he still has baby teeth, or once his permanent teeth come in? I'm also nervous about how to best get him off the pacifier. Any suggestions are appreciated! He has a few blankets that he uses for comfort, so at least he won't be left with nothing to soothe him.
The "great nuk giveaway" went great!! Thanks to all who offered advice. Our son loves going to the carousel, so we prepped him for a week that we were taking the nuks to the baby horses, and that he was a big kid who didn't need them anymore. When he rounded the corner and saw the lights of the carousel, he grabbed our tote bag full of them, and ran to the booth to "trade" them for ride tickets. This was Thursday, and he's slept like a dream each night. Thanks, Moms, for your help!
Mama, Papa and Eric
My daughter had a nuk until she was 3 years old. She had the same open bite you are talking about. She is now 4+ and her bite is normal. I think it took a couple of weeks/months, but it did correct back to "normal." We had a few tough nights without them, but we suffered through them and never looked back. Of course, every kid is different, but if he is anything like a typical child, his bite will be just fine.
I have been told the bite can go back to within normal limits, but not that it necessarily will. There are so many other factors beside the nuk that will affect this as he gets older as well. The sooner you can get rid of the nuk the better your chances of avoiding braces in the future though. I know an adult who still has a a bite that does not close completely and he cannot tear things with his front teeth but you would not know by looking at his smile. We tried a lot of different things to eliminate the nuk when the kids were at that age. The best thing is to find a reward that is important to the child that can be given when they go without using the nuk. One idea is giving stickers for a certain period of time they go without the nuk and once they get a certain number of stickers they earn a reward. The reward can be going to the park, watching a favorite movie with mom and/or dad, or anything of your choice. That is what worked when we needed to break a habit for our kids.
C. Louise H. - disabled mom and Part time Latasia Jewelry Designer
Both my boys had their "nuk" until they were 3. They also had the bite issue, that did correct itself after we took them away. Although they are going to still need braces anyway, since they inherited their mothers small mouth...no room for all the teeth. :) At 2 I restricted "Nuk" to only nap and night time use. Then as he started to lose them I didn't replace them. When he was on his last one he left it in a hotel room when we were traveling. He threw a fit that first night, but I reminded him that he wasn't a baby anymore and that I had told him that if he lost it I wasn't buying anymore. He never said a word after that. My other son was told that when you turn 3 you had to leave them for Santa (with the cookies and milk) and he would bring you an extra special present. Worked like a charm. He only asked for it once, and when reminded he left it for Santa to get the extra cool present, he said "oh yeah..." and never asked again.
Good Luck!
A little about me: Married, SAHM with 3 children: 4,7,9
I just took my 2 year old to the dentist. She has the same issue. The dentist said it was time to take the nuk away. The bite will correct itself, unless we don't take the nuk away. He said it should be done before she get's her 2 year molars. If we don't we could be looking at speech therapy.
