Let’s Talk About Dummies!

Dummies can be a lifesaver in the early months. They help soothe babies, support sleep, and can offer comfort during big feelings. BUT, with prolonged use, they can impact the growth and development of the mouth and jaw, impacting a child’s speech, breathing and feeding skills.

How Can Prolonged Dummy Use Affect Development?

It is recommended that children are weaned off dummies from 12 months old and that children are dummy-free by 2 years old. When a dummy stays in the mouth for long periods it can influence how structures grow and work together:

• Teeth and jaw: Long-term sucking can affect how the teeth come together and how the jaw develops, which impacts a child’s bite.

• Roof of the mouth: The roof of the mouth may become higher or narrower, which can crowd teeth later on. This makes it hard for the tongue to reach the hard palate when saying different speech sounds (like t and d).

• Tongue position: With a dummy in the mouth, the tongue often sits lower or further forward than it needs to. This may result in open-mouth breathing. 

What About Feeding?

Children need strong jaw muscles and good tongue movement to manage a range of foods. Prolonged dummy use can make this harder, leading to preferences for soft foods or tiring quickly when chewing foods like meat, crusty bread or harder fruits.

And Speech?

Speech sounds rely on precise tongue placement. If the tongue is used to sitting forward or low in the mouth, some children may find sounds like t, d, s, z, n, l trickier to master or produce clearly, as the tongue tip struggles to reach up to the hard palate.

An Important Note

Weaning doesn’t have to be rushed or stressful. Limiting dummy use to sleep times, offering comfort in other ways (including cuddles or comfort toys) and celebrating small steps can make the transition smoother for everyone.

If you have concerns about your child’s feeding, speech or oral development, we are trained in oro-myofunctional therapy and can help guide you.