How to Help a Teething Baby

Children react differently during the teething period. Sometimes this process does not affect their well-being, but more often shortly before the next tooth appears, babies become restless, weepy, sleep poorly, refuse to eat. During this period, they usually have increased salivation, their gum reddens and swells. Some kids may even have a fever and diarrhea. There are several ways to relieve their pain.

Get the child drink more often

Dentition is a natural process that does not require treatment, but it is accompanied by increased formation of unwanted body substances. To quickly get them out, often get the child drink between feedings.

Wipe off saliva

To prevent saliva from irritating the skin, wipe the child’s face and neck with baby wipes or soft towel, and once a day – lubricate with protective cream.

Massage the baby’s gum

Massage the swollen gum with clean fingertips, cold tea spoon or a gauze tampon – a light pressure on the gum will speed up teething.

Give your child teethers

Buy the baby a teething ring which is best kept in the refrigerator – cold will relieve pain, reduce swelling and remove inflammation of the gums.

Medicines that relieve pain during teething

On a doctor’s advice, you can use gels or ointments for the gum, which contain anti-inflammatory and analgesic substances, such as anesthesin (Kalgel, Dentinox).

Fever during teething

If a child has a fever (from 38 °C or higher) during teething, your doctor may recommend paracetamol. If the fever persists for 48 hours or the baby starts coughing, has a runny nose or watery stools, call a doctor: this could be cold or intestinal infection.

Diarrhea

If a baby has a stool disorder, feed him 2-3 days with lighter meals, preferably cereals. Limit the amount of fruits and juices, give him some tea with chamomile, fennel and caraway seeds, or administer these herbs in the form of droplets. The timing and order of teething depend on genes, but general patterns do exist.

How and when the first teeth appear in children

The first baby teeth appear in majority of babies after 5-8 months of birth. Typically, teeth appear in girls earlier than in boys. The date of this significant event usually depends on genes. If the child has no signs of rickets and he is developing normally, a delay in teething for 6 months is not a cause for concern.

Typically, the lower central incisors appear first, then the upper central and upper side ones.
Usually a one-year old kid could have 4 top teeth and 2 or 4 lower incisors, i.e. 6-8 teeth.

Source of the image: Photl.