How to handle teething
Oct 10, 2010
MARGARET Kahwa is at crossroads. Her five-month-old baby, Shadrak has diarrhoea, fever and lumps in his gums. Kahwa thinks her son could be developing milk teeth.
By Agnes Kyotalengerire
MARGARET Kahwa is at crossroads. Her five-month-old baby, Shadrak has diarrhoea, fever and lumps in his gums. Kahwa thinks her son could be developing milk teeth.
But Nankinga, her elderly neighbour, says Shadrak is too young to grow teeth and concludes that those are false teeth commonly known as ebiinyo in Luganda. Nankinga advises Kahwa to cut open the baby’s gums to remove the lumps.
Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital, says when a baby begins teething; there is no pattern on how long it will take and how painful it will be.
For one baby cutting a tooth might happen overnight without pain, while another child might go through a long and painful experience.
Dr. Kitaka defines teething as a process by which an infant’s teeth sequentially appear by breaking through the gums. She adds that the process of teething often follows hereditary patterns.
If the mother and father teethed early or late, the baby may follow the same pattern.
However, on average the first tooth comes out during the first six months, although it can appear as early as four months, or as late as a year.
The typical time frame for new teeth to appear is between six and nine months.
Some parents extract the buds of teeth by tearing through the gum but James Obua, a dentist at Angel Medical Centre, Kamwokya, discourages the practice.
“When the teeth are scooped, the baby may get permanent gaps. The process may also cause viral or bacterial infection especially when unsterilised instruments are used,†he says. He encourages letting the baby go through the teething process.
Dr. Kitaka says each baby presents different teething symptoms, most of which are usually mild. But sometimes the process is painful and uncomfortable.
Symptoms of teething
Fussiness.
Teething leads to soreness and discomfort.
Biting and gnawing
A baby that is teething will gnaw and gum down on anything she or he can get their mouth on.
The counter pressure from biting on something helps relieve the pressure from under the gums.
Cheek rubbing and ear pulling. Pain in the gums may travel to the ears and cheeks particularly when the back molars begin appearing. The reason why babies rub their cheeks or pull at their ears.
However, pulling at an ear can be the result of ear infection.
Drooling
From three to four months, you may see your baby start salivating more often than normal. Teething stimulates salivating.
Babies generally do not have very high fever and body temperature during teething. In case the fever is very high, Dr. Kitaka encourages consulting paediatricians for medication advice.
lDiarrhoea, running nose, less sleep, gnawing, biting are the other common symptoms for teething in babies.
Suggestions to help the baby cope with the discomfort
As the gums are painful and swollen, it is advisable to rub little pieces of ice on the gums to help relieve the pain and swelling.
You can also gently rub frozen cloth or cold spoons on the gums to soothe the pain, relieve the discomfort and bring down the fever.
With advice from pediatrician, take some gel or paste and rub on the gums, the disinfectant properties, will kill the germs in the baby’s mouth.
In case the temperature is very high, place a damp cloth on the baby’s forehead. Try to avoid medicines and consult a paediatrician.
MARGARET Kahwa is at crossroads. Her five-month-old baby, Shadrak has diarrhoea, fever and lumps in his gums. Kahwa thinks her son could be developing milk teeth.
But Nankinga, her elderly neighbour, says Shadrak is too young to grow teeth and concludes that those are false teeth commonly known as ebiinyo in Luganda. Nankinga advises Kahwa to cut open the baby’s gums to remove the lumps.
Dr. Sabrina Kitaka, a paediatrician at Mulago Hospital, says when a baby begins teething; there is no pattern on how long it will take and how painful it will be.
For one baby cutting a tooth might happen overnight without pain, while another child might go through a long and painful experience.
Dr. Kitaka defines teething as a process by which an infant’s teeth sequentially appear by breaking through the gums. She adds that the process of teething often follows hereditary patterns.
If the mother and father teethed early or late, the baby may follow the same pattern.
However, on average the first tooth comes out during the first six months, although it can appear as early as four months, or as late as a year.
The typical time frame for new teeth to appear is between six and nine months.
Some parents extract the buds of teeth by tearing through the gum but James Obua, a dentist at Angel Medical Centre, Kamwokya, discourages the practice.
“When the teeth are scooped, the baby may get permanent gaps. The process may also cause viral or bacterial infection especially when unsterilised instruments are used,†he says. He encourages letting the baby go through the teething process.
Dr. Kitaka says each baby presents different teething symptoms, most of which are usually mild. But sometimes the process is painful and uncomfortable.
Symptoms of teething
Fussiness.
Teething leads to soreness and discomfort.
Biting and gnawing
A baby that is teething will gnaw and gum down on anything she or he can get their mouth on.
The counter pressure from biting on something helps relieve the pressure from under the gums.
Cheek rubbing and ear pulling. Pain in the gums may travel to the ears and cheeks particularly when the back molars begin appearing. The reason why babies rub their cheeks or pull at their ears.
However, pulling at an ear can be the result of ear infection.
Drooling
From three to four months, you may see your baby start salivating more often than normal. Teething stimulates salivating.
Babies generally do not have very high fever and body temperature during teething. In case the fever is very high, Dr. Kitaka encourages consulting paediatricians for medication advice.
lDiarrhoea, running nose, less sleep, gnawing, biting are the other common symptoms for teething in babies.
Suggestions to help the baby cope with the discomfort
As the gums are painful and swollen, it is advisable to rub little pieces of ice on the gums to help relieve the pain and swelling.
You can also gently rub frozen cloth or cold spoons on the gums to soothe the pain, relieve the discomfort and bring down the fever.
With advice from pediatrician, take some gel or paste and rub on the gums, the disinfectant properties, will kill the germs in the baby’s mouth.
In case the temperature is very high, place a damp cloth on the baby’s forehead. Try to avoid medicines and consult a paediatrician.