Unlike vital organs like the heart, your baby's teeth
didn't start working from the day she was born. On
the average, baby's first tooth arrives sometime during
the seventh month; in some babies it can come as early
as 3 months and in others as late as a year old or,
even slightly later or earlier. It often follows a
hereditary pattern in that if either parent teethed
early or late, their baby may follow likewise. The
symptoms precede the actual process of teething by
some months. These symptoms listed below vary from
child to child; some babies experience all or some
of the symptoms while some lucky few don't go through
the turmoil. Some symptoms are part and parcel of
teething while others are mere coincidences which
parents want to associate with teething.
Confirmed links to Teething:
Drooling:
Babies start to drool at anywhere
from 3 weeks to 4 months of age; teething stimulates
drooling in varying degrees in different babies.
Inflamed skin:
Constant contact with saliva cause baby's chin and
cheeks to become irritated resulting in dry skin.
Gently pat away the drool from time to time with a
soft napkin. Check with your doctor on a suitable
emollient you can use on the dry patchy skin.
Occasional cough:
Excess saliva can cause baby to gag or cough sometimes;
as long as baby seems well otherwise, you have nothing
to worry about.
Biting:
During this phase babies will gum down on anything
from their own tiny hands to your unsuspecting thumb.
The counter pressure from biting will help relieve
the sore gums.
Pain:
Some babies have to deal with extreme pain while others
feel negligible pain; the unbearable soreness is most
evident with the first tooth eruption (after that
it seems babies get more or less used to the pain
from subsequent eruptions). Molars, because of the
bigger size cause some amount of pain.
Irritability:
Baby may become cranky, out of sorts and moody because
of having to deal with constant pain. Here again some
babies are more irritable than others.
Refusal to eat:
Baby may lose appetite in foods and prefer milk instead;
this is temporary and normalizes once the new tooth
is through. This should not be an issue since baby
is fussy right now anyway and most importantly baby
is getting nutrition through fluids from nursing or
formula. However you should not take things lightly
if baby refuses a couple of feeds or is taking very
little over several days.
Restless nights:
Her fussing continues into the evenings and can keep
her awake in the nights. Even babies who have established
sleep patterns can suddenly begin night waking again
due to teething discomforts. Like many other teething
symptoms night waking is more common with first tooth
and molars.
Ear pulling:
Pain in the gums can travel to the ears and cheeks,
especially when it is time for the molars to appear.
It is common to see your teething baby tugging at
her ears or the chin. Ear pulling can also mean ear
infections so be alert for other signs and check with
your doctor on your hunch.
Gum Haematoma:
Sometimes there is bleeding under the gums which may
appear as a bluish lump under the gums. Most doctors
suggest leaving them alone as they will heal without
any interference. Cold compresses can be applied to
lessen the discomfort.
Unconfirmed links to Teething:
Diarrhea and nappy
rash:
Some doctors feel there is an association between
the two and link the excess saliva swallowed to the
loose stools. Other doctors don't support this claim
and feel that other issues may be at play such as
gastrointestinal problems. (The usual companion of
diarrhea is nappy rash.) So even if your baby seems
to have loose bowel movements around this time, you
should not ignore it if it lasts more than two bowel
movements.
Mild fever:
Some doctors hesitate to form this link to teething;
they rather view it as a coincidence. It is around
this time that babies lose their immunities from their
mothers and become more prone to infections. Some
doctors meanwhile find that a low-grade fever accompanies
teething because of the inflamed gums. In any case
treat fever as you would at any other time; call your
doctor if fever doesn't subside after 3 days.
Types of pain relief..
There are some options you can resort to comfort your
agonized baby. Rub her gums with your clean little
finger or let baby chew on a clean, ice-cold flannel;
try not to rely too much on medicines and gels if
other natural methods can bring relief. Use it as
a last resort.
Try the rattle or key
rings:
Teething rings are good alternative to medications.
Cooled water filled versions as well as textured ones
may encourage the emergence of teeth along with providing
the necessary comfort.
Finger foods:
Since they enjoy gumming down, offer babies to chew
on finger foods; they help to strengthen jaw muscles.
Chilled carrot, a frozen bagel are some examples.
If you use any food be sure your baby is in the sitting
position and under adult supervision.
A cold drink:
Offer baby a bottle of ice-cold water or juice. If
she prefers the glass, offer the drink in one; some
babies don't wish to suck right now. Fluids are important
now as she may be losing them through excessive drools
or diarrhea.
Cold foods:
Yoghurt, pureed fruits chilled or a popsicle may be
more appealing now than warm foods.
Medicines:
If nothing seems to work, baby paracetamol syrup should
do the trick; follow the dosage instructions and never
over or under dose your child. A number of teething
gels are available for babies older than 4 months;
check the sugar dose and buy one that is age-appropriate.
If you decide on homeopathic alternative, check on
its suitability with your doctor first.
Finally
never, ever get tempted to rub alcohol on your baby's
gums even if it's a suggestion from your well-meaning
friends or relatives; this works like poison to your
young infant.
Teething chart
This chart shows the most typical pattern of tooth
eruption.
| Upper
Teeth |
When
tooth emerges |
| Central incisor |
7 to 12
months
|
| Lateral incisor |
9 to 13
months
|
| Canine |
16 to 22
months
|
| First molar |
13 to 19
months |
| Second molar |
25 to 33
months
|
| Lower
Teeth |
|
| Second molar |
23 to 31
months
|
| First molar |
14 to 18
months
|
| Canine |
17 to 23
months
|
| Lateral incisor |
10 to 16
months
|
| Central incisor |
6 to 10
months |
|
• Generally, about 4 teeth will erupt in every
6 months of life.
• Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth
• Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs
- one on the right and one on the left
Pearls of wisdom
• Meanwhile it is never
too early
to start the
cleaning regime; start
by running a damp cloth over the gums even before
the first tooth appears. You are not only introducing
your child to a
hygienic habit but
also keeping your baby's mouth clean and
germ
free. Start 'brushing' with a dab of
fluoride
free baby toothpaste on a flannel cloth instead
of toothbrush in the early months and progress to
a toothbrush when your baby has more teeth. Baby will
get accustomed to brushing by then.
• Primary teeth are important because they reserve
the place for permanent teeth. "Baby" teeth
play a key role in speech development and chewing.
• Most kids have their first set of teeth by
the time they are 3 years old. Called the
primary
or baby teeth, there are 20 in total. When a child
grows to age 5 or 6, these teeth start falling out,
one by one.
• Slowly, the
permanent teeth
replace the primary teeth and by the time they hit
their early teens, most kids have lost all of their
baby teeth and have a full set of permanent teeth.
• There are 28 permanent teeth; around age 20,
four more teeth called
wisdom teeth
usually grow in at the back of the mouth. They complete
the adult set of 32 teeth.
• Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter
in color than the permanent teeth that will follow
• Girls start teething faster than boys
