🦷 Teething is the ugly step sister in the paediatric consulting room. It gets blamed for everything- congestion, sleeping problems, increased fussiness, decreased appetite, nappy rashes, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever.
🦷 Although your baby may feel a bit warmer, please remember that any fever more than 38°C, severe diarrhoea, vomiting or a complete hunger strike is usually not caused by teething, but can be symptoms of other infections or inflammation. When babies teeth, there are small slits or cuts that develop in the gums and this could provide entry to some bacteria and viruses and cause illness.
🦷 Baby drooling develops mostly from 3-4 months onwards as this is when the salivary glands develop. Babies putting everything in their mouths from 3 months onwards is a developmental milestone as the mouth is the best developed sensory organ, and that is the way that a baby will explore it’s world. Again, not everything can be blamed on teething.
🦷 Underneath those gummy grins, babies are born with their full set of baby teeth. They will get 20 baby teeth, but up to 32 permanent teeth.
🦷 Teeth are the hardest substance in your child’s body.
🦷 Some babies are born with teeth showing. They are called Natal Teeth, and occur in 1 out of 2000 births. This is more common in children who also have a cleft lip or palate abnormalities. If these teeth are loose and wiggly they may pose an aspiration risk and they will be removed shortly after birth.
🦷 Your baby may inherit some features from their parents, but just like fingerprints, their teeth are unique to them. This even applies to identical twins.
🦷 Babies can get their first teeth anywhere between 4 and 16 months. It is extremely rare for a child not to have any teeth at all. The norm is usually between 6 and 10 months, but please don’t worry if your baby doesn’t have any teeth by 1 year of age. All baby teeth usually erupt between 4 to 30 months… luckily with some brief periods of reprieve in between sets.
🦷 The most uncomfortable and sometimes painful period before a tooth erupts is usually 24-72 hours preceding the eruption of the tooth. Teething is not painful for all babies. Some will wake in the morning and it will just be there, whilst for other little ones it seems to be a more arduous and laborious process.
🦷 Teeth usually erupt in pairs. Of course you will get those little ones that didn’t quite get the memo and will do their own way, but generally the lower middle teeth are first to peep though with the top middles ones following soon after.
🦷 Teeth fall out in the same sequence that they erupted.
🦷 Girl babies seem to teeth earlier than boys, and they loose them earlier too. Why, you may ask? No one knows!
🦷 Massaging their gums, breastfeeding more often (the rhythmic motion soothes some babies) and giving them slightly cooled, firm rubber teethers, without gels or fluid inside, can help soothe the discomfort experienced with teething. A clean knotted washcloth that has been chilled in the freezer for 15 -30 min max and attached to a pacifier clip, might also provide some relief. If all else fails Paracetamol, or Ibuprofen (if baby is older than 6 months), may be used on the odd occasion.
🦷 Teething gels, essential oils and so-called natural remedies containing Belladonna, should be used with caution. Remember not all things “natural” are good for you! Snakes, amongst a few other things I can think of, are very natural and not all that good for you…
🦷 I strongly discourage the use of teething necklaces and amber beads. These are a choking and a strangulation risk, and there is no scientific evidence that the succinic acid supposedly released by these beads, relieves any of the symptoms of teething.
🦷 Even baby teeth need to be brushed and cared for. Remember that baby teeth affect influence the placement of permanent teeth. If the baby teeth are rotten and fall out, the permanent teeth will start to drop down into those empty spaces and start to crowd other adult teeth that can influence the bite later on. Let’s keep those little pearly whites looking their best.
If you have any concerns, or unsure whether your babies symptoms are related to teething, please contact us for a consultation.
Xoxo, Dr Christa
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