TEETHING IN INFANTS

Teething patterns are hereditary which could mean that if the mother had her teeth early, her child as well can have them early. The arrival of the first tooth is considered a big milestone in the life of an infant. The arrival of the first tooth in an infant is a celebration for the parents in particular and others in the family in general. The first teeth sprout when they are between 4 - 7 motyhs of age. Some babies are born with the first tooth very rarely.

During the teething period babies have the tendency to bite all that he lays his hands on. It is the duty of mothers to keep their baby from putting things in the mouth and chewing. Ideally, rubber teething rings of various shapes are good enough to give exercises to the child to bite for strengthening the teeth. Care should be taken to avoid materials made from thin and brittle plastic objects lest they should break and swallowed leading to choking mishaps.

Children at this age are inquisitive and have a tendency to bite furniture coming in their way. Care should be taken that the paint in the furniture doesn’t peel off to enter the baby’s mouth. If your baby have aching gums, never make the mistake of applying or rubbing a bit of any brand of spirits on the aching gums for, who knows the baby may develop a taste for such thing in her later life.

Every mother should therefore take pictures of the child and make a note of the date and time of its appearance in her baby. Most of the mothers are not aware that teeth actually start developing when the baby is still in her womb. They sprout one at a time over a period of time, and often but not always in a particular order described in the preceding paragraphs. All of them may not come straight.

For few fortunate babies the process of teething is absolutely painless. Those who are not so fortunate will turn cranky because of pain due to irritation of the gums as the teeth push their way leading to swelling and inflammation. Some babies may ever run temperature and yet others may have diorreah or vomiting. Mothers need not be unduly worried if her child is cranky. The best course of action is to consult her pediatrician. Never ever to given aspirin to her child for relief of pain because aspirin is associated with relatively rare but potentially life threatening condition called Reyes Syndrome.