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As a parent, it’s upsetting seeing your baby in pain due to teething and feeling powerless to help. Here, reporter Phil Dewey explains how to spot the early signs of teething and minimise the youngster’s discomfort
TEETHING is an essential part of a baby’s development, but it can often be a terrible time for both the child and their parents.
Once you’ve got your little bundle of joy into a feeding and sleeping routine, it can often be thrown out of kilter due to the little one crying or becoming distressed because of pain to their gums.
Obviously as a parent you want to do all you can to prevent your baby experiencing any form of pain but it’s also important for both parent and baby to get as much sleep as they can, which can be affected by teething.
Most children will get their first tooth during their first year. Some are born with their first tooth but the majority start teething at around six months old.
Here are the symptoms to look out for if your child is suffering from teething:
■ Baby’s gum is sore and red where the tooth is coming through
■ One cheek is flushed
■ Baby is dribbling more than usual
■ Baby is gnawing and chewing on things a lot
■ They are more fretful than usual
It is often believed that other symptoms of teething can be diarrhoea and fever but this is not the case.
The first teeth to usually appear are the bottom incisors at around five to seven months old.
The top incisors can come through at six to eight months old, while the top lateral incisors come through at around nine to 11 months old.
The bottom lateral incisors can come through at around 10 to 12 months old, the first molars at around 12 to 16 months old, the canines at around 16 to 20 months old and the second molars at around 20 to 30 months old.
Most children will have all of their milk teeth by the time they are twoand-a-half years old.
If your child is becoming distressed as a result of teething, here are a number of tips from the NHS to try.
It’s important to stress that every baby is different and not all of these tips may work:
■ Teething rings: Provide something safe for the baby to chew on to ease discomfort or distract from pain
■ Children’s teething gels: These often contain a mild local anaesthetic which helps to numb any pain or discomfort
■ Raw fruit and vegetables: If your baby is starting to chew on their fingers or toys, fruit and vegetables can be a healthy item to chew on
■ Paracetamol and ibuprofen: If baby is in pain or has mild raised temperature (less than 38C), they can be given a sugar-free painkilling medicine specifically for babies and young children which contain small doses of paracetamol or ibuprofen
■ Comforting or playing: A fun way to comfort babies is by playing with them or hugging them to distract from the pain
■ Wiping baby’s face: If teething is causing baby to dribble more than usual, gently wiping their face can prevent a rash
Once your baby’s teeth start coming through, it’s important to register with a dentist and to start brushing their teeth with fluoride toothpaste as soon as their first milk tooth comes through.
But it is important to mention that not all babies get their teeth at the same time.
The first teeth usually arrive between four and seven months, but many children get their teeth much later – and it’s perfectly normal.
What’s important is to look at your baby overall.
If everything else is in order – hair, skin, growth – than it’s nothing to worry about. Development happens in different stages.
However, as with everything, there’s a top-end. If your little one is still without their teeth by 18 months, it’s worth mentioning to a doctor, who may refer you to a paediatric dentist.
If it’s just down to lateness, but there’s no real problem, late teething could actually be a good thing.
Pediatrician Paul Horowitz, founder of Discovery Pediatrics in Valencia, California, said the later young teeth come in, the less time they have to develop decay before they fall out and make way for permanent teeth.