Baby Tooth Symptoms - Before You Think
Ah, the baby's first teeth!
Such an event fascinating how much annoying for the child.
Yes, unfortunately teething can be source of pain and weeping for the newborn baby but not only.
In this article I explain at what age they sprout first teeth, how to tell if they are sprouting first teeth, how to tell if the newborn cries for teething and what are the main symptoms of eruption of the infant's first teeth.
Baby Teeth: Generalities
As you can see from the diagram below drawn PeriodoFertile.it (all credits reserved to PeriodoFertile) i deciduous teeth of the infant (commonly called milk teeth) are 20 in total while the teeth permanent (those that will grow later) are 32.
The deciduous teeth of the newborn are smaller, porous and white compared to permanent teeth.
The human dentition presents four types of teeth incisors (4 central teeth), canines, premolars and molars.
At what age do the first teeth emerge
The eruption of deciduous teeth normally starts around 5-8 months of life and you complete around 26-30 months.
The Beginning teething various from child to child: nothing prevents the first teeth from starting to emerge some time earliere.g. in the fourth month, or that they appear a little lateraround 10 months of age, for example.
I eruption times of the baby's teeth, in general, are as follows:
- Around 5-7 months of age, the first teeth of the newborn child, i.e. the lower central incisors;
- at the age of 8-12 months, the upper central incisors;
- at the age of 9-13 months the upper lateral incisors;
- at the age of 10-16 months the lower lateral incisors;
- at the age of 12-18 months the first molarsboth lower and higher;
- at the age of 16-24 months the caninesboth the lower and the upper ones;
- from 22 to 33 months sprout second molarsboth the lower and upper ones.
In any case, it must be taken into account that the timing of tooth eruption varies greatly from child to childThe earliest ones get their lower incisors erupting already around the age of three months, while the laggards have to wait until they are one year old to see their first teeth.
Symptoms of Tooth Rupture in Infants
I first lower incisors should pop up 5 to 7 months of age, with a large variability individual from child to child.
However, often yes thinks the discomfort caused by the eruption of teeth is present only on days when the tooth cuts the gum and comes to light (around 5-7 months of age) .
However, if you think about it, the tooth coming out represents the final part of an eruption course started months earlier and which, week after week, leads to the complete eruption of the tooth.
The baby tooth is very deep in the gum and takes months to fully erupt.
This means that your baby may start showing the first symptoms and teething discomfort as early as the second/third month of life.
What are the symptoms of eruption teeth?
You can realising that the infant is teething by the following symptoms::
- At approximately 2-4 months of age, the newborn increases salivation exponentially (sialorrhoea);
- The child starts frantically putting his hands in his mouth, seeking relief.
- The infant is more irritable and annoyed during the day, apparently for no reason.
- The infant is annoyed during breastfeeding and detaches himself more often; sometimes he even eats less, precisely because of the sore gums.
- The newborn wakes up more often at night, attaches to the breast or takes a dummy, and goes back to sleep.
- The baby's sleep is more agitated and the infant whimpers in his sleep. Often when teething is a nuisance, the baby wakes up, whimpers perhaps without even opening its eyes, is breastfed or given a dummy, and falls asleep again; however, after a few hours it does so again.
- When the teeth are about to erupt, you will notice the gums are more swollen and you will notice the teeth erupting in transparency.
- The infant may have a slight fever.
- the infant may have more liquid and acidic stools that cause redness in the nappy region.
- The baby is less inclined to stay prone to play on the mat and do tummy time; moreover, when he stays prone to play, he puts his hands in his mouth and lowers his head.
How to alleviate baby teething symptoms
Gum irritation is one of the main symptoms of teething.
Therefore, when it comes to children's teething and remedies, the main focus is on how to alleviate gum discomfort.
Among the most commonly used remedies are gum massage and the use of 'gum massagers', i.e., slightly rough rubber toys containing a liquid that keeps cold when refrigerated.
In this way, the nibbling action exerted by the children on these objects and the cold relieve (albeit temporarily) the discomfort.
There are also soothing gels that will bring relief to babies' gums.
If your baby has already started weaning, you can offer fresh food to eat.
I know that teething discomfort can be very disabling; however, remember that teething discomfort is physiological and will pass on its own as the child grows.
How to tell if a baby cries from teething?
It is not easy to distinguish between the various types of infant crying, but in this chapter I try to explain how to tell if an infant is crying because of teething.
First of all, remember that teething discomfort can start as early as 2.5/3 months of age and is almost always associated with increased salivation and the infant putting his hands in his mouth.
Furthermore, in order to understand whether an infant cries from teething, one must eliminate all factors that might otherwise disturb him.
Usually, the main disorders that irritate the child are gastrointestinal problems (colic, regurgitation, reflux, etc.). - click here to find out how to treat them effectively).
In most cases, these complaints are already present before two to three months of age and overlap with teething discomfort at that age.
Sometimes, it is teething discomfort that causes what is called 'infant sleep regression'.
How can I tell if it is putting on its first denizens?
To understand whether your newborn is teething, I advise you to rely on the symptoms mentioned above and especially on palpation of the gums.
Usually, at least 2-3 months pass from when the eruption process begins (the first symptoms of teething) to when they emerge.
When the teething process begins (at 2-3 months of age), if you touch the gum anterior to where the lower incisors should emerge, you will feel nothing.
If you palpate it at the age of 5-6 months, you may instead feel that the tooth bud is moving up the gum and the first tooth is almost emerging.
Also, if you look closely at the gum, you may see the first small teeth (lower and upper incisors) coming out against the light.
Observation and palpation of the gums are two excellent objective methods to understand when your baby's first tooth comes out.
PS: the tooth buds of the two upper incisors are much easier to palpate; if you place the fingertip of your index thumb in front of the gum in projection of the upper incisors, you will already feel them from 3-4 months of age.
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