kerry

Maybe try going without it for a few days, then try using it again. Maybe your teeth just need a break.

I agree with Kimba, it may be because you are using it too much. Anything you are using in your mouth for great periods of time and every day can cause your teeth and gums to hurt. I would suggest not using it as much or switching from thumb to paci and vice versa. Maybe stop using it for a couple days until your mouth stops hurting and give it a try after. I don't think that you have to stop using it forever, and I really do not think you should, since you seem to like it and it soothes you. Just try to ease up on it and I think you will be fine.

For me when I got mine I used it all the time, which like in your situation made my teeth hurt very badly and I ended up having to go to the dentist, because I didn't know the what the problem was, my dentist thought I may have been chewing too much gum or something and said I should lay off it for a while. Well I didn't know what to do, so I just laid off my paci for a while and even now, I hardly use it and it really works to help ease the pain.

Hope you get better and can use your paci/thumb again!!

I've experienced that. What I realized it comes down to is the amount of pressure the paci exerts when your jaw is relaxed and closed. If you try to really, fully relax your jaw (like it will be when you sleep) with your paci in your mouth, you'll probably notice there's a kinda hunk between your front teeth. So the harder and bigger the paci nipple is, the more of an issue it is...

...which brings me to my point: Maybe try a different kind of pacifier? By far the softest and most crushable I've tried is my latex Nuk 5. As a result, even though it's much bigger in my mouth, it's gentler on my teeth than my baby silicone ones (which are VERY VERY firm). In fact, the wide part of the nipple getting pulled against my pre-molars, though mild, is more bothersome than the bite-down issue. And that's mostly a "stem" length thing.

I've no idea what kind of paci you have -- and I also have no idea whether switching from a latex 5 to a silicone 5 would be helpful, I don't know what kind of silicone they are -- but maybe it could be something to look into. Sometimes we just need our baba!

Even if you have (or get) a really super soft paci, it would still be a good idea to take a break until the soreness goes away. Pain usually means your teeth are moving -- so if it hurts and then stops, probably your mouth has adjusted and you're OK, but if it hurts and just keeps hurting (like braces do!) it's probably beginning to shift your bite around.

Another thing, that I just thought of ... though I don't know exactly how it could be done ... is to integrate a night-guard into your paci usage, the kind used to prevent teeth-grinding at night. Those don't harm your bite because the pressure is spread out across all your teeth, so if you could find a guard that has just the back sides, and then still have room for your paci in the front -- hmm. Just an idea...

I hope you feel better soon dear, and I'm so sorry you're facing this rough patch.

I went without last night--sob!--but today it doesn't hurt much at all, so I'm thinking you all are right. Maybe taking a day off every week or so is what I need to do. BTW, FaennaJo, my paci is indeed a latex Nuk5. :-)

I also would like to add that I hardly ever use mine like once every week, not because I don't like it, but because when I do use it, it is that much more special and seems to soothe me more than if I used it every day. And i never get that hurting feeling anymore, now I know this isn't what you would want to do, but just a thought for me.

I use mine almost every night now that my wife knows about my little side. I've noticed the same thing with my nuk5. Try flipping the nipple upside down for a bit. That works for me when it stats hurting. The other thing you can do is find a bigger binky.