As far as I know some babies really have a need to suck something to relax enough for sleep. I read somewhere (can' remember where) that its a bio-chemical thing; the sucking stimulates the production of happy stuff. According to this source the sucking changes at around 5-6 months into a psychological drive rather than a physiological one so that's a good time to wean from the dummy.
Yasin still has his dummy for sleep and stressful sitations and he's nearly 2 - I find it really usefull in that when I get the dummy out it acts as a sleep trigger so personally I don't think that its nessescary to break the habit.
Then again its a PITA if your bubba wakes up wanting his dummy in the middle of the night.
I know how frustrating it can be to keep putting the dummy back in and to stand around waiting for a baby to sleep while all the things that you need to do keep going around in your head. I've found that for me one of the best solutions has been to accept that babies can't just turn off, so I have to find ways to distract/relax myself. If you get a comfy chair and a good book (or put on a DVD, or ring someone) and sit down beside his bassinet and enjoy your book (or DVD or conversation) you might find that the 25 minutes will pass much faster.