There are two stages in teething; the first stage is appearance of milk teeth, the second is the appearance of permanent teeth.

The milk teeth form while the baby is inside the mother’s womb, but they start appearing in the baby’s mouth by age of 5 months. It may appear earlier or later. The first milk tooth to appear is usually the lower central tooth. Most children have a complete set of milk teeth (20 in number) by age of 3 years.

What you may notice during teething

1. The baby may have no discomfort or pain
2. The body may be warm
3. The gum may be red and painful
4. The baby may put his/her fingers or toys into the mouth
5. The baby may drool saliva or refuse feeds. The drooling of saliva may cause rash around the mouth
6. Teething does not cause HIGH FEVER, vomiting or diarrhea. If you notice any symptoms, please take your child to a hospital

How you can help your teething baby

1. Regularly clean and disinfect the toys
2. Make sure the toys are bigger than his mouth
3. Regularly rub your clean finger on the baby’s gum
4. You can give paracetamol syrup or drops for 1 or 2 days
5. Put cool wet clean cloth on the baby’s gum regularly
6. Teething gels and rings may help
7. Do not use teething powder, it usually contain mercury which can cause kidney disease in the baby in later life
8. Teething syrups (contains paracetamol and piriton) can be used.