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When should a baby start teething: Teething in Babies: Symptoms and Remedies

Teething in Babies: Symptoms and Remedies

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

In this Article

  • What Is Teething?
  • When Do Babies Start Teething?
  • Signs and Symptoms of Teething
  • Order of Tooth Eruption
  • Soothe a Teething Baby
  • Treatments to Avoid
  • Teething Necklaces
  • Teething Medicine
  • How to Care for Baby’s New Teeth

Teething is when your baby’s teeth start to come through their gum line. Another word for it is odontiasis.

Most babies begin to teethe between 4 and 7 months old, but some start much later. There’s no need to worry if your baby’s teeth come in on another timetable — it can be different for every baby.

The symptoms aren’t the same for every baby, but they may include:

  • Swollen, tender gums
  • Fussiness and crying
  • A slightly raised temperature (less than 101 F)
  • Gnawing or wanting to chew on hard things
  • Lots of drool, which can cause a rash on their face
  • Coughing
  • Rubbing their cheek or pulling their ear
  • Bringing their hands to their mouth
  • Changes in eating or sleeping patterns

Teething can be painful, but it doesn’t usually make babies sick. Call your doctor if your baby has diarrhea, vomiting, rashes on the body, a higher fever, or cough and congestion. These aren’t normal signs of teething.

You also should call the pediatrician if your baby’s gums are bleeding or you see any pus or swelling of their face.

When and how teeth come in can be different for every baby and may be based on family history. But most of the time, the lower front two teeth come in first between 6 and 10 months, followed by the opposite top two teeth and the two on either side of those between 8 and 13 months. Next come the two on either side of the bottom front teeth, then the first molars appear between 10 and 16 months. The teeth in front of the first molars are next, and the back molars are the last ones to come in.

In all, 20 “baby teeth” will eventually be in place, usually by age 3.

What works to soothe a friend’s baby might not work for yours. You may need to try different things to help your little one feel better:

  • Something cold in your baby’s mouth, like a cold pacifier, spoon, clean wet washcloth, or a solid (not liquid) refrigerated teething toy or ring. Some experts say frozen teething toys are too cold and may hurt your baby’s mouth. Make sure to clean teething toys, washcloths, and other items after the baby uses them.
  • Try offering a hard, unsweetened teething cracker.
  • If your baby is older than 6-9 months, you can offer cool water from a sippy cup, too.
  • Massage the gums by gently rubbing them with your clean finger. If the teeth haven’t come in yet, you can let your baby gnaw on your finger. If you’re nursing your baby, try dipping your fingers in cool water and massaging their gums before each feeding. That may keep them from biting your nipple while nursing.

Never put anything in your baby’s mouth that isn’t specifically approved to help soothe teething. Even some products described as teethers or teething aids aren’t safe choices, including ones:

  • Filled with liquid that can tear and spill
  • Made of breakable material, like plastic, that can possibly lead to choking
  • That are frozen solid — these can be too hard on a baby’s mouth

Another reason to be aware of the material used to make the teethers: Some can be made from harmful substances, like lead. Look for ones made of rubber.

Child health experts don’t recommend teething necklaces. They’re dangerous: They can strangle the baby. They also can choke if the necklace breaks and they swallow the beads.

If you do choose to use one, make sure to:

  • Put it on a wrist or ankle, not around the baby’s neck.
  • Always watch your baby when they wear it.
  • Take it away when you aren’t watching your baby, even for a very short time.

You may have heard that amber teething necklaces release a pain reliever when heated. That’s not proven, and doctors say using one is not a good idea.

Medicine that you rub on your baby’s gums to stop the pain of teething may not help. It quickly washes away in the mouth and may numb the back of their throat and make it hard for them to swallow.

Stay away from over-the-counter teething gels and liquids that have the ingredient benzocaine. The FDA says this ingredient shouldn’t be given to children under 2. It can cause rare but serious side effects.

A small dose of a children’s pain reliever, such as acetaminophen, may help your baby. Don’t use ibuprofen for an infant under 6 months old, and ask your doctor before giving your baby any medication. Use it exactly as the doctor says.

Teething can be rough for you and your baby at first. But it’ll get easier as you both learn how to soothe each new tooth that pops out.

Good oral hygiene is important, even before your baby has teeth:

  • Until teeth start to come in, clean your baby’s gums with a wet washcloth or piece of gauze at least once a day.
  • Once they have teeth, clean your baby’s mouth the same way at least twice a day. After feedings is a good time for this.
  • After their first birthday, you can start to use a soft-bristled baby toothbrush with water and a small amount of toothpaste that doesn’t have fluoride in it. You can also start flossing between their teeth.

Your child should see a pediatric dentist when the first tooth appears, or no later than their first birthday.

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Teething in Babies: Symptoms and Remedies

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

In this Article

  • What Is Teething?
  • When Do Babies Start Teething?
  • Signs and Symptoms of Teething
  • Order of Tooth Eruption
  • Soothe a Teething Baby
  • Treatments to Avoid
  • Teething Necklaces
  • Teething Medicine
  • How to Care for Baby’s New Teeth

Teething is when your baby’s teeth start to come through their gum line. Another word for it is odontiasis.

Most babies begin to teethe between 4 and 7 months old, but some start much later. There’s no need to worry if your baby’s teeth come in on another timetable — it can be different for every baby.

The symptoms aren’t the same for every baby, but they may include:

  • Swollen, tender gums
  • Fussiness and crying
  • A slightly raised temperature (less than 101 F)
  • Gnawing or wanting to chew on hard things
  • Lots of drool, which can cause a rash on their face
  • Coughing
  • Rubbing their cheek or pulling their ear
  • Bringing their hands to their mouth
  • Changes in eating or sleeping patterns

Teething can be painful, but it doesn’t usually make babies sick. Call your doctor if your baby has diarrhea, vomiting, rashes on the body, a higher fever, or cough and congestion. These aren’t normal signs of teething.

You also should call the pediatrician if your baby’s gums are bleeding or you see any pus or swelling of their face.

When and how teeth come in can be different for every baby and may be based on family history. But most of the time, the lower front two teeth come in first between 6 and 10 months, followed by the opposite top two teeth and the two on either side of those between 8 and 13 months. Next come the two on either side of the bottom front teeth, then the first molars appear between 10 and 16 months. The teeth in front of the first molars are next, and the back molars are the last ones to come in.

In all, 20 “baby teeth” will eventually be in place, usually by age 3.

What works to soothe a friend’s baby might not work for yours. You may need to try different things to help your little one feel better:

  • Something cold in your baby’s mouth, like a cold pacifier, spoon, clean wet washcloth, or a solid (not liquid) refrigerated teething toy or ring. Some experts say frozen teething toys are too cold and may hurt your baby’s mouth. Make sure to clean teething toys, washcloths, and other items after the baby uses them.
  • Try offering a hard, unsweetened teething cracker.
  • If your baby is older than 6-9 months, you can offer cool water from a sippy cup, too.
  • Massage the gums by gently rubbing them with your clean finger. If the teeth haven’t come in yet, you can let your baby gnaw on your finger. If you’re nursing your baby, try dipping your fingers in cool water and massaging their gums before each feeding. That may keep them from biting your nipple while nursing.

Never put anything in your baby’s mouth that isn’t specifically approved to help soothe teething. Even some products described as teethers or teething aids aren’t safe choices, including ones:

  • Filled with liquid that can tear and spill
  • Made of breakable material, like plastic, that can possibly lead to choking
  • That are frozen solid — these can be too hard on a baby’s mouth

Another reason to be aware of the material used to make the teethers: Some can be made from harmful substances, like lead. Look for ones made of rubber.

Child health experts don’t recommend teething necklaces. They’re dangerous: They can strangle the baby. They also can choke if the necklace breaks and they swallow the beads.

If you do choose to use one, make sure to:

  • Put it on a wrist or ankle, not around the baby’s neck.
  • Always watch your baby when they wear it.
  • Take it away when you aren’t watching your baby, even for a very short time.

You may have heard that amber teething necklaces release a pain reliever when heated. That’s not proven, and doctors say using one is not a good idea.

Medicine that you rub on your baby’s gums to stop the pain of teething may not help. It quickly washes away in the mouth and may numb the back of their throat and make it hard for them to swallow.

Stay away from over-the-counter teething gels and liquids that have the ingredient benzocaine. The FDA says this ingredient shouldn’t be given to children under 2. It can cause rare but serious side effects.

A small dose of a children’s pain reliever, such as acetaminophen, may help your baby. Don’t use ibuprofen for an infant under 6 months old, and ask your doctor before giving your baby any medication. Use it exactly as the doctor says.

Teething can be rough for you and your baby at first. But it’ll get easier as you both learn how to soothe each new tooth that pops out.

Good oral hygiene is important, even before your baby has teeth:

  • Until teeth start to come in, clean your baby’s gums with a wet washcloth or piece of gauze at least once a day.
  • Once they have teeth, clean your baby’s mouth the same way at least twice a day. After feedings is a good time for this.
  • After their first birthday, you can start to use a soft-bristled baby toothbrush with water and a small amount of toothpaste that doesn’t have fluoride in it. You can also start flossing between their teeth.

Your child should see a pediatric dentist when the first tooth appears, or no later than their first birthday.

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A child’s teeth grow out of order – what to do, who to contact?

The first teeth are a long-awaited and exciting event. It brings with it joy – and anxiety if it doesn’t go according to plan. Any pediatric dentist will say that teething not according to the established pattern is a variant of the norm. But parents are still worried: maybe this is an alarming symptom?

Among the reasons why teeth erupt out of order and out of time, there can really be serious illnesses: rickets, dyspepsia. But they are always accompanied by more characteristic symptoms.

For example, with rickets, the baby sweats a lot, especially in the head area, lags behind in physical development, is naughty a lot, is afraid of bright light. Dyspepsia is accompanied by a distinct disorder of the gastrointestinal tract: the child’s stool changes, severe colic is observed. It is impossible to miss these symptoms.

Therefore, problems in pediatric dentistry are not a reason to suspect a serious diagnosis.

When you should definitely not worry:

  • If the family has already had a case of “wrong” teething. The timing and order of the appearance of milk teeth are genetically determined. If a child’s teeth grow out of order and the parents or grandparents had the same feature, there is nothing to worry about.
  • In difficult childbirth and if the child was ill in the first days or months of life. While he is recovering, temporary problems in pediatric dentistry may appear – the body simply does not have enough resources to compensate for all birth disorders at once.
  • If the child is generally healthy, eats fully and walks. This makes it possible to exclude complex disorders in the development and formation of the skeleton.

The order of appearance of teeth was formed in the course of evolution. To date, pediatric dentistry has accumulated a lot of data on this interesting topic. Marine predators have the same teeth – conical, so that it is convenient to grab slippery prey. And in land mammals, they were divided into incisors, canines, premolars and molars.

Ask a pediatric dentist to tell your child how teeth have changed depending on their purpose. Fangs served for protection, sharp incisors helped to bite off food, and powerful molars helped to chew. Depending on the species, the order of the appearance of teeth developed: for example, in puppies and wolf cubs, fangs appear first, because they are predators.

Man quickly became an omnivore, mastered hunting and farming. This is one of the answers to the question why baby teeth in children can erupt out of order. We are no longer tied to the evolutionary code, so we have many variants of the norm.

Science does not yet know the exact answer. But it is known for sure that it is impossible to influence the order of appearance of teeth. No pediatric dentist will be able to prescribe medications or procedures to make teeth fit “correctly” or to speed up their growth. The only working strategy is to wait and monitor the health of the child as a whole.

Sometimes parents are concerned not with the order, but with the timing of eruption. On average, milk teeth appear about 6 months. Deviations of three months in both directions are normal. You can show your child to a pediatric dentist if the baby got teeth at three months or did not appear at eight, but both situations fit into the norm.

Possible reasons for the delay:

  • heredity;
  • difficult childbirth, diseases of newborns;
  • congenital or genetic diseases (always have other, more characteristic symptoms).

It is believed that the rate of appearance of teeth is influenced by the method of feeding and complementary foods. However, it has not received official confirmation in pediatric dentistry. The child needs good nutrition, and from what source is not so important.

Can teeth not erupt at all? They can. In 1% of cases, pediatric dentists diagnose congenital adentia. It is associated with ectodermal dysplasia, a serious tissue pathology, which is also accompanied by underdevelopment of hair and nails, skeletal deformity, and other noticeable problems. If your child does not have the listed signs, then the delay in teething is temporary and they will definitely appear soon.

So, the timing and order of appearance of milk teeth is very variable. And their mutual arrangement in the oral cavity is not. If your teeth grow crooked, uneven, you should contact a pediatric dentist. Crooked teeth are a sign of malocclusion, which can lead to serious problems.

Why malocclusion is harmful:

  • The risk of caries increases due to the fact that adjacent teeth press against each other.
  • Diction is broken, it will be difficult for a child to master sounds.
  • Possible pain in the jaw area due to muscle strain.
  • Smile looks unaesthetic.
  • In severe cases, the oval of the face changes, headaches develop.

Most bite defects are easily corrected in a pediatric dental clinic with plates or braces. Usually, correction is started at the age of 5-6, after the change of teeth to permanent ones. But if the location of milk teeth (milk bite) is significantly outside the norm, the pediatric dentist will offer a plate or cap.

Why correct milk bite?

  • It will be easier for a child to master speech and to establish diction.
  • The masticatory muscles and articulatory apparatus will develop correctly.
  • Reduces the risk of misalignment of permanent teeth.
  • Individual features, heredity.
  • Complications during childbirth and during the neonatal period.
  • Chronic diseases (always have other, more characteristic symptoms).

Let’s sum it up: the time and order of the appearance of teeth may differ from the generally accepted ones. This is normal, not dangerous and will not cause problems in the future.

It is worth contacting a pediatric dentist if the teeth grow unevenly, as this indicates an abnormal bite. The bite is usually corrected after 6 years, on permanent teeth. Milk bite is corrected only in case of severe pathologies that affect the health and development of the child as a whole.

It is possible to identify problems in time only in pediatric dentistry, where doctors have experience working with babies. It is very important not only to understand the features of the formation of the milk dentition, but also to conduct an examination carefully and accurately. Many babies are afraid of strangers, and the doctor’s approach is very important.

“Mira” is a children’s dental clinic where they work with patients of any age. We pay much attention to the comfort of our little visitors. The sooner the kid visits the dentist and makes sure that treating his teeth is not painful and not scary, the less likely it is to start health in the future. And you will be sure that we will not miss real problems and will not make a false diagnosis.

Mira is your children’s dental clinic. Contact.

Change of milk teeth to permanent ones: what is important to know?

Many parents still think that pediatric dentistry is needed only in exceptional cases: if the child has a severe toothache and the pain does not go away by itself. There is also an opinion that there is no need to do anything with milk teeth, because they will fall out anyway and give way to molars. These are erroneous opinions that the doctors of our clinic would even call dangerous.

Why does a child need a pediatric dentist? First of all, for preventive examinations and monitoring of the growth of teeth, their change. Many factors influence the health of milk teeth. In turn, the health of the first teeth affects the condition of the molars even before they erupt. Next, we will understand how the change process takes place. Every parent should know this to help their little one get straight, beautiful teeth and not experience problems as an adult.

If you are still not accustomed to taking your child to the pediatric dentist once every six months, it’s time to write down the date of the next visit in the calendar and make an appointment in advance at our clinic. This simple action will help prevent unpleasant problems, positively affect the formation of bite and oral health.

In addition, getting to know the doctor early will help children form a good impression of the clinic. Caring for teeth in Mira children’s dentistry in Krasnoyarsk will be associated with something festive and exciting! This is completely opposite to the situation when you bring a baby to the clinic with a severe toothache that requires treatment. A visit to the dentist will inevitably be remembered as something unpleasant.

The first teeth during eruption will cause discomfort in the child, and this is a natural process. During this period, salivation increases, a runny nose may occur due to the eruption of the upper teeth. The normal pace involves the appearance of new teeth every few weeks.

Be prepared for the fact that the child will be capricious and refuse to eat, he may have a fever. In order to facilitate this period, you can use special teething toys. During this period, the gums become inflamed and cause discomfort – they can itch and hurt. Talk to your dentist: There are safe cooling gels for children that can help reduce the intensity of teething and teething symptoms in children.

It is also recommended to replace drinks with plain water. Juices and other drinks that contain sugar create an acidic environment in the mouth. Because of this, an inflammatory process can begin. Care should be taken to disinfect pacifiers and toys that children may place in their mouths.

The first teeth appear at the age of six months. The first chewing teeth appear at the age of 1 to 1. 5 years. Fangs are cut in a period of up to 2 years. After that, by the age of 3, the following chewing teeth appear. Each new group requires attention. So, it is important to clean chewing teeth well after eating, since the enamel of milk teeth is quite weak. Food retention on the surface can easily cause inflammation.

It is also important to make sure that the child weaned from the pacifier and stopped putting his fingers in his mouth. If this does not happen, an incorrect bite will be formed.

At the age of about 5 years, milk teeth begin to fall out, giving way to molars. It is important not to stimulate this process. It is not necessary to remove teeth, as this will negatively affect the growth of molars. In exceptional cases, the doctor may prescribe surgery if there is severe caries, too early or late eruption.

If a tooth is loose and about to fall out, no help is needed. It is better to take the baby to the doctor to get an individual recommendation and confidence that the processes are going naturally.

Do not forget to take your child to the doctor about once every 3 months in order to carry out mineralization, fluoridation and treatment of caries in time. If the pain during teething is very strong, it is allowed to give painkillers to children.

After the age of 3, parents can take a break from the changes. And then, at about 5 years of age, milk teeth are replaced by permanent ones. The process begins with the lower incisors. Then, after about a year, chewing “sixes” are cut, which parents may mistakenly take for dairy. A year later, the upper incisors change.

To make this journey with your child without problems and pain, visit the dentist regularly. Children may experience pain simply from jaw expansion. The doctor can easily tell you the cause of the discomfort. The age of 6-7 years shows the prospect of bite formation. Here you can quickly fix the problems that arise so that by adolescence the child has an even beautiful smile.

Further, the procedure for replacing milk teeth continues with the upper lateral incisors by 8 years. aged 9-10 years old, the primary first premolars appear, and a year later they are followed by the second premolars. 12-13 years old is the age of the appearance of fangs, and at 14 years old the last second molars are cut.

The procedure for replacing milk teeth ends with the full formation of a bite in the amount of 24 teeth.

It is recommended to bring your baby to the dentist as soon as the first tooth begins to cut. In some cases, if there are problems, this should be done earlier. You already know that adults are advised to visit the dentist once every six months to prevent and treat problems in the early stages.

Speaking about children, they need preventive meetings with the doctor more often. The growth, condition and change of teeth in children must be carefully monitored. Milk teeth are less resistant to caries, therefore, to detect inflammatory processes in the early stages, you need to go to the dentist more often.

Of course, any unpleasant symptom in the oral cavity requires a visit to a doctor.