Teething is one of the challenges of medical science in Infancy
period. Many studies show that teeth eruptions might have a lot of
symptoms, including bad mood, skin rashes on the cheeks and around the
mouth, increasing saliva secretion, swollen gums, Sucking
a finger and etc. These signs and symptoms are mild in some infants, and
in others may be severe; it is difficult for parents to tolerate
these conditions. The peak of the severity of teething-related symptoms
is when the dental buds have grown sufficiently in the gum
and try to exit from the swollen gingiva.
Keywords: Teething; Saliva Secretion; Bad Mood; Skin Rash; Swollen Gum; Dental Buds
Introduction
As important as it is, tooth eruption is a matter of difficulty for
both parents and children. Note that maintaining the health of teeth
and gums in the child is the basis of the health of his teeth and gums
for whole life. Teeth eruption is one of the most important stages
of the growth, and through this stage, the baby will be able to have
chewable foods. Commonly, there is a timetable for each primary
tooth to erupt in the mouth. Signs of infant’s teeth eruption include
disturbances in sleep and night-time wakening, mouth-watering,
redness of cheeks, chewing fingers and objects, swollen gums, child
malaise, bad temper, and the appearance of tooth buds [1-3]. In this
article, we refer to any of these cases.
Schedule the Growth of Different Teeth in the Baby
Generally, new teeth grow in pairs. First, we see the eruption
of the two lower primary central incisors teeth, and about a month
later, the two upper primary central incisors teeth would erupt. Of
course, in some cases, the four lower primary anterior teeth might
erupt at first, and then we see the eruption of the upper primary
anterior teeth or vice versa. In general, the eruptions of the primary
teeth are scheduled to be as follows: [4]
a) At 6 months of age: lower primary central incisors teeth
b) At 8 months of age: upper primary central incisors teeth
c) At 10 months of age: upper and lower primary lateral teeth
d) At 14 months of age: first primary molars teeth
e) At 18 months of age: primary canines’ teeth
f) At age 2: second primary molars.
Signs and Symptoms
Given that the primary teeth are much smaller when they come
out of the gum, and the process of tooth eruption is different in
children, the symptoms that can usually be expected are:
a) Distracted Dreams: In some children, teething might be a
painful process that can awake the baby at night. Therefore, if the
baby suddenly wakes up at night, it may be due to her teeth. At this
time, the best thing that mothers can do is taking her to the cradle
and calm down.
b) Excessive Mouthwatering: Increasing saliva secretion
can be one of the symptoms of the eruption of a new tooth. This is,
of course, one of the natural stages of the baby’s teeth growth, so
too much water in the mouth is not always a sign of baby’s teething.
There is no way to detect the association between excessive saliva
secretion and the eruption of new teeth. In a baby who is teething,
his chin is often wet. Excessive saliva can cause injury and irritation
of the baby’s face, so mothers should dry the baby’s face and mouth
with a soft, delicate cloth. To protect the skin of the baby’s face, they
can consult with their physician.
c) Swollen Gums: In some cases, before germinating of
the tooth, the growth site in the gingiva of the infant becomes red,
swollen and bruised. Sometimes, the rise of a tooth below the gum
causes a bulge so that if parents can persuade her child to open the
mouth enough, they can see the whitish shadow of the tooth under
the swollen gingiva.
d) Chewing Things: Children like to take everything
in their mouths, but if the baby too much does that, she may be teething. The pressure that unerupted teeth from below have on
the gums, make the pain to be relieved by applying pressure from
the opposite direction. Hence, most infants who are teething are
willing to bite on different objects. Mothers should try to give them
a teether rings to make them a little quiet. Of course, chewing on
different things can also be the innate response of the baby to the
strange sense of the mouth.
e) Sucking a Finger: In addition to biting on things during
teething, it may be accompanied by sucking a finger. The baby can
suck and bites for a few hours during the day. By doing this, he also
tries to eliminate the pruritus of the gums. The joy of this action
helps the baby to eliminate the pain and pressure of the teeth.
Therefore, a mother may find that her baby calms down by chewing
his fingers. She should try to keep her baby’s hands clean so no
microorganisms can enter the baby’s mouth.
f) Change in Eating Habits: Wounds and gum’s swelling
can make sucking painful for the baby. If the baby is hungry but
runs away from feeding by mother’s breast or bottle, he may be
teething. In this case, babies who eat solid foods tend to breastfeed
or feed on the bottle, because the spoon annoys their inflamed
gums. Some other babies also do quite the opposite of doing this,
that is, they eat more because the bilateral pressure gives them a
good feeling. On the other side, babies who still feed on the breast or
bottle may eagerly start feeding at the beginning but quickly refrain
from eating, because the sucking action puts very uncomfortable
pressure on the gums and ear canals.
g) Baby’s Temper Tantrum: Primary tooth eruption (the
outward movement of the tooth in the bone and gum) is usually
done in a manner so that this action takes place more often
overnight compared to the daytime, consequently, the baby will be
more restless at night. The pain of teething can cause her sensitivity
and irritability, and make him constantly cry.
h) Acne:In some children, teeth eruption may be
accompanied with symptoms such as acne. Of course, this symptom
is not definitive like fever, and it may have other causes. Skin
hypersensitivities are more likely in children due to delicateness
and vulnerability of their skin, and occasionally these acnes are
signs of gastrointestinal symptoms.
i) Pulling the Ears: Holding, gripping or even pulling the
ears, although sometimes indicative of ear infections, it can also be
a sign of tooth eruption; in this situation, the pain that occurs in the
jaw could be a transferred pain to the ears.
j) Cough: In some cases, when children are teething, they
start coughing at that period of time.
Two Misconceptions about Signs of Teething
Many still believe that a child can have a fever during teething
5]] (even healthcare providers!), but on the contrary, some believe
the temperatures above 102 degrees Fahrenheit are not related to
teething [6]. If fever exists in this period, it is a mere accident and
must be caused by other factors [7] . However, if we compare the
temperature of the baby’s body who is teething with a child who
does not, his body temperature may be slightly high, but this increase
is not important enough to be called fever. Hence, why do many
babies with teeth eruption have a fever? What is the explanation
for that? Another misconception is that teething causing diarrhea
[8,9]. Severe diarrhea or constipation is not associated with teeth
eruption, and these two events should normally not be accompanied
with each other. Although fever and diarrhea are not so much related
to the teething, interestingly these signs are seen in some children
with the onset of teeth eruption. The concurrency of diarrhea, fever
and tooth eruption has two main causes: first, around the age of 4-6
months, when the teeth are emerging, the child’s immune system
gradually become independent of the mother reduces the body’s
resistance, and therefore this causes symptoms such as fever and
diarrhea. Secondly, at this time, children take everything in their
mouths to relieve the itching of the gums and discomfort that they
develop during teething, but these objects may be contaminated
to microbes [10], hence, there is the expectation of diarrhea in
infants. Consequently, the emerging of teeth itself does not cause
severe diarrhea. On the other hand, at this time, the safety of the
immune system from the mother to the infant will diminish, [11]
and the child’s body must build the safety components. Therefore,
the reduction of maternal immunity which is transferred from the
mother to the child can be a reason for fever or infection, [11] which
is only a concurrency with teething; and the tooth eruption alone,
do not cause this symptom.
Final Words
To summarize the article, the eruption of the teeth is a natural
occurrence that occurs without acute and severe problems. It is a
physiological phenomenon that will be associated with the other
physiological phenomena such as increased saliva in the child,
gums swelling, biting on any objects, disturbance in night sleepless,
changes in eating habits, and so on.,. The tooth eruption does not
pose a problem for the child. Some people mistakenly think that
when the baby wants to have a new tooth, he is prone to having
a fever, severe diarrhea or even constipation. The growth of teeth
will never be accompanied by high fever. The teeth eruptions are
different in newborns, but in general, most of them have first teeth
at six months of age. Noteworthy that some of the symptoms of
teething are similar to those of some diseases, which should be
contacted with a pediatric pediatrician in the event of worsening
of the symptoms.
Read More About Lupine Publishers Journal of Dentistry and Oral Health Care Please Click on the Below Link: https://lupine-dentistry-oral-health-care.blogspot.com/
