There’s an interesting debate occurring on the possible benefits and/or harm of cleaning a pacifier in your own mouth after it drops on the floor.
In a recent New York Time’s article Anahad O’Connor discussed the possible benefits of “Sucking Your Child’s Pacifier Clean.” The article states, “For years, health officials have told parents not to share utensils with their babies or clean their pacifiers by putting them in their mouths, arguing that the practice spreads harmful germs between parent and child. But new research may turn that thinking on its head. In a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, scientists report that infants whose parents sucked on their pacifiers to clean them developed fewer allergies than children whose parents typically rinsed or boiled them. They also had lower rates of eczema, fewer signs of asthma and smaller amounts of a type of white blood cell that rises in response to allergies and other disorders.”
The ADA quickly responded, “The ADA wants parents to be aware that licking a pacifier can transfer the cavity-causing bacteria from parents to children—increasing the possibility of tooth decay as they grow....Sharing eating utensils with a baby, or the parent sucking on a pacifier to clean it, can also increase the likelihood of transmitting decay-causing bacteria.”
Dr. Ferguson’s take on the issue? He has three children that used pacifiers when they were young, and the pacifiers honestly weren’t boiled every time they dropped on the floor. But, it is important to note that the environment of every mouth is not the same. If a parent has good dental hygiene sharing utensils is less potentially harmful than if a parent has significant decay and disease. Germs and bacteria are easily spread to our children through all normal family activities. Keeping your child free of cavities and other oral infections is easier when you’re keeping your mouth healthy as well.
