Can a bottle or pacifier cause my child’s teeth to become crowded or crooked?
This is a common concern among parents and has a fairly simple response. In general, your pediatrician will recommend that you plan on discontinuing the use of a bottle by age one. There is, of course, a little flexibility with this so that the child can undergo a relatively smooth transition to the use of a sippy-cup. Every child is different in their need for that warm bottle of instant comfort. It is indeed an amazing cure-all for infant displeasure, but like all addictions, it isn’t easy to stop. Other children will give it up easily, gladly welcoming the new benefits of becoming a toddler. Most child-rearing books, like the “What to Expect” series, will give you tips and tricks of how to wean both the bottle and the pacifier. My biggest advice would be to start sooner rather than later, especially if you have a strong-willed child. If you are successful in weaning both the pacifier and the bottle around 12 months, then you have no concern that either one will affect the orthodonti
