Not All Pacifiers Are Created Equal: A Mechanical Examination of Pacifiers and Their Influence on Suck Patterning.

Purpose: Many pacifier companies advertise that their product is the "best choice" to support proper sucking, feeding, and dental development; however, very little evidence exists to support these claims. As the primary differences across pacifiers are structural and mechanical, the goals of this study were to measure such properties of commercially available pacifiers and to examine how these properties alter suck patterning in healthy, full-term infants.

Method: Seven commonly utilized pacifiers were mechanically tested for pull and compression stiffness levels and categorized into nipple shape types based on their aspect ratio.