- Babies are born with 20 primary teeth
that are hiding inside their gums.
And over the next two and a half to three years
those teeth are going to erupt and break through those gums.
And this process is what we know as teething.
Now, the good news is the discomfort
a little on experiences from teething
should technically only start a few days
before that tooth breaks through
and stop a few days afterwards.
The not so good news is that your baby
is going to go through this process 20 times.
So in this video we are going to cover
what are the teething symptoms,
what are not teething symptoms,
as well as some strategies to help you
relieve some of that discomfort
your little one's going to experience.
But before we do make sure you click
on that free PDF document in the description box below
which covers the developmental milestones.
You can be expecting for your little one
in their first year of life.
This will give you an invaluable peace of mind
as you'll know when to be expecting certain skills
and when to be concerned.
Teething can begin as early as three months of age,
but you're more likely to see your baby's first tooth
anywhere from four to seven months of age
or an extremely rare cases,
your baby might've been born with a tooth
or have a tooth arrive in the first few weeks of life.
So the first two teeth you're most likely to see
are the center two bottom teeth.
And then there's a set sequence
that the teeth typically arrive in, but it's not uncommon
for babies teeth to arrive out of sequence.
No matter what order those teeth arrive,
your baby will have 20 teeth by their third birthday.
So they'll have 10 teeth on the bottom jaw
and 10 teeth on the top jaw.
Now you might have a baby who doesn't show you
any signs at all, that they are teething,
and those teeth just arrive.
Or you have a little one who has all the teething signs.
So the one of the first things you might notice
is an eruption cyst,
and that is a blue or gray bubble on your baby's gum
which would disappear when that tooth comes through.
Your baby might also have gum pain.
So that's pain at the site
where that tooth is going to come through.
And that sometimes results
in a baby being more fussy and changing their diets.
So they prefer to have kind of pureed food or softer food
because the harder food is causing them more discomfort.
And of course their sleep might be interrupted
because of that gum pain.
You might also notice that your baby
has an increased craving to chew on absolutely everything.
So there might be your toy fingers
or anything else that they can find around the house.
Now, with this chewing,
you will notice an increase dribbling and drooling.
Now the key word here is an increase in this behavior,
not the start of dribbling and drooling
which generally happens at around eight to 12 weeks of age
which is when your baby first starts to make saliva.
So this is an assigning itself that they're teething,
but as a result of extra chewing on things
your baby is going to dribble more because, unfortunately,
those motor receptors in the mouth
are going to send a message to the brain
to say, produce more saliva.
And then our little ones don't yet have the skill
to swallow that saliva,
or actually manage it in their mouth.
So that dribble is just going to come straight on out.
Now because of that extra drooling,
your baby might also develop a dribble rash.
Now teething does not cause a fever or diarrhea.
So if your little one is experiencing any of those symptoms
it's important to go to a doctor to have them checked.
Now let's talk about what you can do to help alleviate
some of the discomfort your little one
might be experiencing when teething.
So the very first thing you can do is provide a gum massage.
So putting pressure on the sore gum can actually
decrease the pain, your little one's experiencing.
So you would obviously clean your finger and then rub that
along the swollen or irritated part of your baby's gum.
And you can do this as many times
as you want throughout the day.
Really, it depends on how happy your little one is
to let you rub their gum.
Now, if your little one isn't that happy
for you to rub their gum, don't worry,
they can actually rub their own gum
and essentially give themselves a gum massage
by chewing on things.
So they can chew on a pacifier or a dummy,
if they're already using it.
If they're not using it,
then don't worry about introducing it.
Or you can use a wet face washer.
Now this way to worship should be placed
in the fridge after it's been wet and chilled
and then given to your baby to munch on.
Don't put it in the freezer
because if you put it in the freezer
there's a risk that they'll get freezer burn
when they put it in their mouth.
Now to make it easier for your little one
to actually hold the face washer.
I've seen lots of videos where they actually
do it like this, and then they just twist it
and then wet this part of the face washer
and place it in the fridge and then give it to the baby.
As you can see, this is a really thick handle.
It would be really hard for your little one to hold.
So a better option is to actually
roll it up really, really tightly.
And then again, only wet one end
and then place that in the fridge.
And then you could give that to them
as a thin cylindrical item to hold,
which is easier for your babies.
Or you can give them a teething ring.
Now I prefer teething rings that are circular
because it's easier for a four to seven month old baby
to hold when you're thinking about their fine motor skills
or a teething ring that is cylindrical in nature.
Now, of course, when you're looking
at buying a teething ring, you wanna make sure
that they're made from non-toxic ingredients.
So that might be a hundred percent natural rubber,
food-grade silicone, untreated natural hardwood
or food-grade safe plastics.
And if you get a teether that you can place
in the fridge, even better,
because then you can give it to your little one chilled.
Again, remember don't put it in the freezer
because when you give it to your baby
it can actually cause a little bit of frostbite.
So it's not ideal.
Your baby might also like using teething rusks
or biscuits or having food that is chilled
but this is only really appropriate
if your little one is eating
and you need to always make sure
that you're watching your little one
when they've got a teething rusk or biscuit.
Now because your little one is going to be chewing
on a lot more things,
you're going to notice that increase in dribbling
which can cause a dribble rash.
So you want to prevent that rash from happening
by making sure that you wipe away any excess drool.
And also use bibs that have a waterproof backing
and applying a moisture barrier cream if needed.
And if you want more information on how to manage
your baby's dribbling to prevent that rash occurring
then make sure you check out the video linked above.
Now, the other strategy
that can work really well is distraction.
So this is only really helpful, for when your baby's awake
during the day, it doesn't help at night time.
But what you can do is just try and engage your baby
in more play, just to try and distract them from that pain.
Now, if they continue to experience some pain and discomfort
and it's interrupting their day and their night's sleep,
you can consider using medication to manage that pain.
But that's always something you should talk
to your baby's doctor about because then you can find out
what medication is suitable and at what level.
Now there are some things that are no longer recommended
for helping relieve teething symptoms.
And that is firstly, the teething necklaces.
So these are jewelry or beads
that are worn around a baby's neck or on their wrist
to help relieve some of those teething pain.
And it's typically made from Amber.
Now, the US Food and Drug Administration or FDA
no longer recommend these
because it can lead to strangulation.
And there is a risk of choking
if those beads break off at all.
The FDA also do not recommend the use of teething gels,
because they have found that they're not necessarily useful
for babies who are teething,
and in fact it came cause your baby harm.
So teething gels themselves
usually wash out your baby's mouth very quickly
because they swallow it.
And then as parents, we tend to put more on.
And that excessive amount of medicine
which they are constantly swallowing
can actually be really harmful for you a little one
and cause some serious health conditions.
For example, benzocaine, which is a local anesthetic
found in some teething gels can cause choking, bluish skin,
allergic reactions and a rare but serious blood disorder.
So that's the parent's lose signs
your baby may show you when they're teething
as well as some strategies that you can use
to help alleviate some of your baby's pain.
Now, if you want some more advice on drooling
and what it all means, then check out these videos.
And if you want more information
on how to help your baby do some tummy time
then check out this one.