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Teething Symptoms

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Some babies do not seem to experience any negative symptoms of teething. However, most parents report that their baby demonstrated some drooling, irritability, gum swelling, and/or sleeping problems while teething.

Drooling is usually the first symptom of teething to appear; babies sometimes begin teething-related drooling at age three or four months. Drooling can also cause a secondary symptom of minor rash around the baby's chin and mouth, because the saliva may irritate his skin. Wipe the drool off of his chin periodically to keep him from getting a rash.

Teething can make the baby's gums sore and painful, which is what makes him irritable. Often, babies are more fussy when cutting the first few teeth than with subsequent teeth, perhaps because they get used to the uncomfortable feeling. They may then become more irritable again when the molars come in, because the molars are bigger and can be more painful. However, babies seem to vary in which teeth they find more painful than others.

Their gum pain during teething can also disrupt their sleep schedule, or make them less interested in food at times. If these symptoms, or any symptoms, are worrying you or making your child especially unhappy, see your pediatrician to rule out a more serious cause of the symptoms. The doctor will also advise you how best to help your child while he is teething.

Your child's behavior may give you other signs that he is teething. Many babies put their hands in their mouths more often at this time, or put other objects in their mouths to chew on them. The pressure on their gums from the object or hand helps to relieve the pain from the teeth coming in.

Doctors believe that children who are teething may get sick more often because their hands are in their mouths so much. This helps to explain why parents used to believe that teething caused fever. We now know that teething does not cause fever. If your child develops a fever, look for other signs of illness and see your pediatrician. This is not due to teething, but to some other problem, which must be treated separately.

Next Page: The Teething Process

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