Baby's first teeth usually start coming in around 6 months of age, beginning with the lower front teeth. The teething process may cause some irritability in babies but usually does not result in serious issues like fever, diarrhea or vomiting. While teething, parents should rub inflamed gums and provide teething toys to chew on. It's also important to introduce solid foods like apples and carrots before 6 months so babies learn to chew in preparation for more teeth. Close supervision is needed once teeth emerge to prevent choking on small pieces.
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Pediatric Dentist Rockford IL | Baby's First Teeth
3. All content in the presentation, including medical
opinion and any other health-related information, is
for informational purposes only and should not be
considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment
plan for any individual situation. Use of this
presentation and the information contained herein
does not create a doctor-patient relationship.
Always seek the direct advice of your own dental
pediatrician in connection with any questions or
issues you may have regarding your own health or
the health of others.
4. Baby's First Teeth
Babies cut their teeth in a fairly predictable order but at
widely varying ages. Your baby's first tooth will almost
certainly be one of the bottom front pair but will only
probably be cut shortly before his half birthday. Getting teeth
earlier or later than average doesn't mean that a baby is
"forward" or "backward" -- in fact, it means nothing of
significance except that once a tooth appears that toothless
grin is gone forever.
5. For most babies "teething" starts later than you may expect
and is less dramatic. Since your baby won't cut a tooth until
five or six months, it's unlikely that the process will trouble
him before, say, four months. And it probably won't cause
much trouble then. The first four teeth are so flat and sharp
that they usually come through with nothing more notable
than an inflamed gum, a bit of dribbling, and a lot of chewing.
If you can see a red patch of gum, and your baby seems
frantic to bite down on it, try rubbing it with your finger.
6. "Teething" is a popular, but usually inaccurate, explanation for
fretfulness and crying in very young babies. And it can be a
dangerous explanation, too. Each year a few babies reach the
hospital in a serious condition because parents had ascribed
what turned out to be symptoms of a serious illness to
teething and therefore waited too long before seeking
medical help. Teething cannot cause fever, diarrhea, vomiting,
convulsions, or "fits," at this age or later. If your baby seems ill
when you think he is teething, consult your doctor: he is
either ill and teething, or simply ill.
7. Teeth and Chewing
First teeth are biting-off teeth, not chewing teeth. Babies start
chewing with their gums long before they acquire teeth at the
back of the mouth to help them. Don't assume that a baby
with one solitary front tooth cannot chew. He will start
teaching himself to chew as soon as he can get his hands and
the toys that they hold into his mouth.
8. Make sure your baby also gets foods such as peeled pieces of
apples or scrubbed raw carrot to chew well before six months
or he may become so used to semiliquid foods that when he
does have chewing teeth, at around a year, he won't use them
because really solid food revolts him and makes him gag.
9. Chewing on hard food is good for babies' developing jaw, and
feeding themselves with their own hands helps them feel
enthusiastic and independent about eating. Stay close,
though, in case your baby pokes himself in the eye with that
carrot stick. And once a coming tooth is visible, as a small,
pale bump under the gum, be especially alert. When its point
breaks through, it will be so sharp that your baby could grate
a tiny piece of that apple off and choke on it if you weren't
there to help.
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