Teething signs

• Biting or gnawing on everything, including you.
• Clingy and whimpering.
• Disrupted night time sleep and fitful day time napping.
• Drooling (often partnered with chin or lip rash).
• Grumpy.
• Lack of appetite and possibly off breast or bottle milk (the sucking draws blood to the gums and makes them more sensitive).
• No interest in toys.
• Raised temperature (but not a fever, which is a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or above).
• Red cheeks.
• Sore, sensitive or swollen gums.

Home remedies to relieve teething pain

• Your cold finger on the gum area can numb the pain temporarily.
• Something to chew on, such as a wet flannel kept in fridge.
• Cold food such as apple puree or yoghurt straight from the fridge.
• Cold chewing aid such as frozen bagel or bread.
• Wipe drool from face with cloth to prevent rashes.
• Lots of comforting cuddles (or as Nana puts it ‘nursing’).

Over the counter remedies for teething

• Homeopathic teething powder
• Painkiller for baby’s (e.g. paracetamol or ibuprofen)
• Silicon teething ring (better than gel filled – much easier to sterilise)
• Hard teething biscuits such as Bickiepegs
• Teething gels (can contain a mild local anesthetic to numb pain and antiseptic to reduce infection) – please be aware of product recalls for teething gel brands
• Wooden teething ring or amber necklace

Symptoms not believed to be teething related

• Teething and diarrhea are not usually associated (if your baby has diarrhea and a high temperature consult your doctor as it maybe connected to another illness)

Teething tips from real mums

• Frozen banana or cold cucumber to relieve hot gums
• Rubber spoons are softer on sensitive gums during weaning
• Cold water from a doidy cup gives baby relief from hot gums
• Serve food that you would normally heat up cold from the fridge

Teething milestones

• Typically babies teeth at six months, however 1 in 2,000 babies is actually born with a tooth or two.
• Early starters can cut a tooth at three months and it is not usual for some babies to see their first tooth closer to twelve months
• First tooth is normally the lower central incisors and the last teeth the second molars, found in the upper and lower back of the mouth
• Teething order of appearance; the bottom front ones first, then the top two middle ones, then the ones along the sides and back
• Baby teeth fall out around the age of six when the permanent teeth are ready to come in

Keeping baby teeth clean

• When teeth come through start brushing gums and teeth with a baby toothbrush and a light smear of baby toothpaste.
• Dentists tend to prefer first visits at around six months.
• Don’t put your baby to bed with a bottle as the milk can pool in the baby’s mouth and lead to baby-bottle tooth decay.

Please share any teething tips with Mindful Mind below…

Sources:

NHS Choices Teething Introduction

Pamela DenBesten, Pediatric Dentistry University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry Is teething associated with diarrhoea

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