Cutting teeth





The transition from gummy grin to a smile with 20 gleaming teeth can take three years to complete. Dr Howard Lee offers comfort for the misery and grizzles of teething babies

It all started in the womb, of course. While you were pregnant your baby developed tooth ‘buds’ – the foundation for baby teeth, called ‘milk teeth’. One in 2000 babies is actually born with a small tooth or two, but for the vast majority, these buds begin to break through the surface sometime between four and six months.

An early developer may show the first white cap (usually the lower, central incisor) as early as three months; a late bloomer may not show signs until almost 12 months, but this is no cause for concern. For most it’s around the time when you start to include solid food in their diet – about six months. Remember that premature babies may be a few months behind in getting their teeth.

When teething begins

  • 6-12 months – lower two front teeth, followed by the two top front teeth or incisors.
  • 9-16 months – two more incisors, top and bottom
  • 12-18 months – first back molars
  • 18-24 months – canines appear – in-between molars and incisors
  • Last – second molars – found in the lower and upper back of the mouth.
  • The full set of baby teeth is usually in place by the time your child’s three.
Every parent knows when teething first begins, it’s not much fun and can be a long, drawn-out process. Early symptoms often precede the actual event by a month or two, so you could be up at night consoling a fractious baby when there’s no sign of the offending tooth.

What are the signs

Before a tooth erupts, the overlying gum may become red and swollen, and the cheeks often slightly fuller and flushed. At this stage, babies often chew on fingers or objects and dribble. If this is a problem, dab your baby’s mouth and chin gently to dry the skin and apply thin layers of barrier cream for added protection (a sore, inflamed skin area will only add to the misery) – fretfulness, waking up at night and an unwillingness to eat are also common signs of teething. If your baby refuses solid food, you can offer extra breast or formula milk, as well as cooled boiled water.

Simple methods of help can be:

  • Rubbing the gums, or encouraging biting on teething biscuits or rings
  • Relief by rubbing on cold objects – teething rings kept in the fridge, a piece of frozen bread, or eating cold foods like apple puree or yoghurt from the fridge
  • relieving gels are available (Bonjela, after 4 months of age) Simple paediatric ‘over-the-counter’ analgesics can be used (Calpol, or Paracetamol liquids)
Teething can certainly make your baby grizzly or downright miserable. The general advice is don’t put signs of a potentially serious illness down to teething. Ignore old wives’ tales that teething causes chestiness, rashes, fever, diarrhoea or convulsions. If your baby has any of these, go to your doctor.

An American study has shown that teething is associated with a mild rise in body temperature and a proportion of children who were shown to be ‘teething’ did have some rise in temperature to 100˚F as well as a facial rash.

So the misery of teething can go on for some time, but console yourself with the fact that by the time your baby’s three, she’ll have a gleaming white set of twenty gnashers and, hopefully, that ring of confidence around them!

Find out more about caring for your baby’s teeth.