Teething Tips
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Just when you thought you and your newborn were settling into a regular sleeping schedule, the teething starts! Most babies start teething around six to eight months of age, but many will start earlier or later. The process will continue until around age two and a half to three years old. Some signs that your baby might be teething are: drooling, irritability, swollen, tender gums, refusing food, and difficulty sleeping. You might also notice them chewing on hard objects. While some children experience little or no symptoms during teething, at Astoria Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we see plenty of parents and teething babies who could use a few more hours of sleep!
Here are some tips to get your baby (and yourself) through this time:
- Gently rub the gums with a cold washcloth.
- Give your child a cold rubber teething ring to chew on. Avoid hard teething rings that can damage teeth or liquid filled teething rings that can break. Those teeth are little but they are strong!
- If your child is on solid foods, feed him/her soft cool foods such as yogurt or soft fruit.
- Don't forget to brush! while there may be some discomfort during brushing while teething, it is important to maintain proper oral hygiene and keep the gums clean and plaque-free. A finger brush may be useful during this time.
- Over the counter topicals analgesics such as Orajel are not recommended.
- If the pain is severe, Dr. Rashmi might recommend taking acetominophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen.
- Now that your child has teeth, it's time schedule your baby's first trip to the dentist. Dr. Rashmi Ambewadikar, Pediatric Dentist at Astoria Smiles Pediatric Dentistry can examine your child's dental growth and development and give you more oral health tips to keep your kids healthy.
