Management of the pacifier and infant oral health: epidemiological survey in adults

Aim The positive and negative effects associated to pacifier are controversial. Many studies try to investigate, in some situation, if the use of pacifiers could be a protective or a risk factor. The aim of this study was to investigate the adults level of knowledge about the use of pacifier and the prevention of oral diseases related to it.
Materials A literature review about the use of the pacifier correlated to breastfeeding, oral infection (oral candidiasis and tooth decay), Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and malocclusion was conducted. The study was carried out by using key words such as infant oral health, pacifiers, breastfeeding, oral candidiasis, thrush, tooth decay, early childhood caries, malocclusion of teeth, and SIDS on specific database searches (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Istat, Ministero della Salute, American Academy of Pediatrics). Then an anonymous questionnaires, which includes 20 items, have been carried out in a group of adults, from April to July 2017. The questionnaire was made up of questions concerning various topics:
· Adult habits about oral health care;
· Child common oral infections and their prevention (candidiasis and tooth decay);
· Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS);
· Breastfeeding;
· Management of the use of pacifiers.
The data have been analyzed with a descriptive statistical analysis.
Results It has been shown that adults knowledge about oral candidiasis, SIDS and the management of pacifier is superficial and incomplete. In particular, the 69% of adults know oral candidiasi, but the 51% don't know if it could be prevent. The 84% of them are learn about SIDS, but only the 30% believe it preventable. Instead, they are well informed about caries and breastfeeding, actually the 91% know that caries is preventable and the most of women (56%) breastfeeding for 6 month or more.
Conclusion. Most of the people who filled the questionnaire need to be informed and trained about the use of the pacifier.
Therefore here is a guideline about the correct use of it:
· keep all the removable protections away from children, in order to avoid the risk of choking;
· check the integrity of the pacifier every time before using it; stretch and twist it. Substitute it immediately if it is damaged or broken;
· don’t tie ribbons or free thread on it: child could strangle himself. If you want to avoid the pacifier from falling down, please use the appropriate tools;
· if the pacifier completely got into the mouth, please do not panic. Thanks to its shape, it cannot be swollen. Just pull and take it off the mouth, being careful.
· don’t leave the pacifier right under the direct sun light or close to heat sources. Live it in the disinfecting solutions just for the time it needs otherwise it can be damaged;
· don’t put sugar or honey on it because they damage babies’ teeth;
· nobody should suck the pacifier before it gets into the child mouth;
· clean the pacifier every time it is used.
· in order to insure the correct hygiene before using the pacifier for the first time, put it in boiling water, and then dry it off. In alternative, you can use disinfectant solutions.
· the pacifier should be substituted every one or two months;
· if you don’t use it for a long time, put it in its box after disinfection.