Dummies and thumb sucking

Key health professionals for delivering this care:
  • Midwives
  • Health visitors
  • Nursery nurses
Key messages: 
  • It's fine to give your baby a dummy but avoid using them after 12 months of age. Using dummies or thumb-sucking can cause the top and bottom front teeth to move to make space for the dummy/thumb, making a gap.  Your child's speech and development can also be affected
  • Discourage your child from running around, talking or making sounds with a dummy or their thumb in their mouth, and don't dip dummies in anything sweet, such as sugar or jam
  • Never suck your baby’s dummy to ‘clean’ it as this will spread germs between you and your baby. Keep plenty of spares instead

Accessibility tools