Baby

Here you can check out the following symptoms of teething in babies:

• Red and swollen gums
• Heavy drooling
• Red cheeks
• Sleeplessness during the day and night
• Ear rubbing, usually on the side
• Gum biting or sucking
• Excessive biting behavior
• Sleep problems
• General crankiness and restlessness
• Lack of interest in food or eating
• Chin and face rash
• Coughing
• Cheek pulling

There is a chance that your baby might develop slight health problems during teething. This mostly happens due to the lack of sleep and inability to eat. Some babies are known to develop diarrhea or a mild flu during this period. This is a side-effect, more than a symptom of baby teething.

There is a chance that these health issues do not have anything to do with the teething. Hence you should consult the doctor in case your infant falls sick during these months, instead of chalking it up to teething. If the health problem is beyond a low level fever, or diaper rash, you should see the doctor about it.

There is no saying how long your baby’s teething will last. It can last for anything between five to seven months. By the time your child is 2 and a half or 3 years, all the milk teeth would have developed too. You do not have to face the teething problem for all this time.

Phases:

• All your baby’s teeth will not break out in one single go.
• The teeth will come out one by one, over a period of months.
• The bottom two middle teeth are usually the first to come out, followed by the top middle teeth.
• The ones on the side and the backs come out after that.
• The good news is that the problems associated with teething only last for a little while, when the first few teeth are emerging. Once the first few teeth are out, the rest of them will come out painlessly.
• Once the first teeth are out, it will take a while for the molars to appear. The molars will appear only around the first year, so you and your infant will get some respite.

Your baby will start developing the first teeth sometime between 4 to 10 months. However, sometimes, it may take longer for the first teeth to appear. That is perfectly normal too.

• Tooth development is hereditary. If you and your spouse developed teeth late, your baby will also develop teeth later than average.
• If by the first year your baby’s teeth have not emerged, you should consult the doctor, so they can be assessed. It will not be a long term concern, or a large scale concern, but your baby might have to get some orthodontic assistance later on.
• If your baby’s hair, bone, and height grow normally, even when the teeth are not growing, it is fine. Late teething is nothing to be worried about, for it does not develop overall development.
• Some doctors are of the opinion that children whose teething period comes late can actually achieve better dental health!
• If your child is healthy and has still not got her teeth by the end of the first year, then don't worry some children start teething from 15 to 18 months.
• By age 3, your child should have full set of 20 baby teeth.  These teeth starts to fall out only when their permanent teeth are ready to come out (around age 6).

Your baby’s teeth form right when it’s in the womb. These teeth buds are formed in the gums and they stay there till it is time for them to come out of the gums.

• Teething is what happens when the teeth start pushing their way out of the gums. This may cause the gums to swell, and there might be rashes in the area too. This is the primary cause of pain and irritation during teething.
• This pain is combined with the pain of trying to eat or drink. Your baby will have the intense urge to chew on things during this period as well, and this puts more pressure on the teeth and gums.
• This sucking and chewing causes extra blood flow to the swollen area, thereby increasing the pain.

There are a lot of things you can do to relieve your baby from teething pain. Here are some baby teething remedies:

• To relieve the pain temporarily, try running a cold spoon on your baby’s gum. You could dip your finger in cold water and run your finger over the gums. This will relieve the pain for a short duration.
• You can use a cold washcloth over your baby’s gums every now and then. This will keep the pain at bay and prevent any rashes from the drooling as well.
• Teething rings are recommended for babies at this age. There are many silicone based rings that can be sterilized and are healthy. You can put these teething rings in the fridge for a while so they become cold, and then give it to your baby. The cold will relieve the swelling in the area, and help cure the rashes too.
• You can give your baby a pacifier. Your baby will have an intense urge to chew on things during this period. Giving a comfortable pacifier to chew on will make your baby feel calm and soothe the pain. You could refrigerate this pacifier before you give it to your baby. Do not put it in the freezer. A pacifier put in the freezer will become too hard, and hurt your baby’s jaws.
• If your baby is over 6 months old, you can give some breadsticks to chew on. You could also try feeding some cold fruits and vegetables at this point. These fruits and vegetables can relieve gum pain as well. When feeding frozen vegetables and fruits, stay away from feeding your baby with carrots or any other hard vegetables that will be tough to chew on.
• Make sure your baby gets as much liquid nutrition as possible. Since your baby will not be interested in eating food due to the pain, you can try to feed healthy but liquid foods. You should always keep some cold water handy in these situations. You can also make some smoothies, purees or give yogurt to your baby.
• Putting some pressure on your baby’s gums would also help. Rub your baby’s gums till you can hear a squeaky noise. This pressure will relieve your baby and the squeaking noise might distract from the pain as well.
• Brushing your baby’s gums with a soft toothbrush about twice a day really helps relieve the pain.
• It will certainly help for you to feed your baby some chilled smoothies. The taste will distract from the pain, and the chill will relieve pain.
• There are some really funky pacifiers you can try out. There are some that vibrate, in order to provide pain relief to the baby. See if these work for your baby.

If these common methods to ease teething does not work, some doctor recommend giving acetaminophen or ibuprofen (for babies six months and older). Ask your doctor for correct dosage before giving any pain reliever.

It’s essential for you to start taking care of your infant’s teeth the moment they start coming up.

• Make sure they are kept clean.
• Start brushing your baby’s teeth as and when they come out. There are special infant toothpastes you can use for this purpose.

Once your baby has developed teeth, try not putting him/her to bed by breastfeeding or with a bottle. This is bad for your baby’s teeth. If you feed your baby to sleep, the breast milk or formula might just collect in the mouth and cause tooth decay at an early age.

You should check with the doctor about the right kind of toothpaste to use for your baby.

• Using fluoride toothpaste is good as it will help prevent tooth decay. However, too much fluoride might be a problem. Your doctor will tell you what concentration of fluoride is perfect for the baby’s teeth.
• Make sure you use a soft toothbrush.
• In the beginning, use very little toothpaste, so that your baby is not repelled by the taste. You should feel free to experiment with different kinds of infant toothpastes at this point. Stick to the one your infant seems to respond to the best.

Brushing Schedule:

Follow a brushing schedule to ensure your baby’s teeth are well taken care of.

• Make sure that you brush your baby’s teeth right before bed.
• Do not give your baby anything sweet to eat right before bed, especially when your baby is teething. This will cause tooth pain, which might add to the teething pain too.

It is generally recommended that a child be seen by dentist by the age of 1 year or six months after the first tooth arrives.