Top teething tips

Guest Blog post by Camilia

While most babies begin teething around six months, that first tooth can appear anytime between three and 14 months. Teeth usually come in pairs, starting with the bottom front two and followed by the top front two. Your baby’s primary pearly whites should be complete by age three, and permanent teeth will start to come in between ages four and six.

Signs of Teething

The need to gnaw

The pressure of an emerging tooth beneath the gums may be relieved by counter pressure, so teething babies often want to chomp on things. The chewing instinct may also be a response to the odd sensation that something’s going on in there.

Puffy gums

Before a new tooth erupts, it can cause a red, swollen, bruised-looking area on a baby’s gums. Sometimes the gum bulges with the emerging tooth, which you can see faintly beneath the skin (if you can convince your baby to open his mouth for long enough).

Excessive drooling

Increased spittle can herald a new tooth—but it’s also a normal developmental stage of infancy, so don’t assume that drooling means teething. There’s no way to tell whether your baby’s saliva is the result of teething or not, though it may be if you also see…

Fussiness, especially at night

Tooth eruption—when the tooth moves through the bone and gum—tends to come in stages, with more activity at night than during the day, so your baby may be more irritable in the evening.

Ear pulling

While it can also be a sign of an ear infection, tugging can be a symptom of teething—the pain from the jaw gets transferred to the ear canal.

A change in eating habits

Babies who are eating solids may want to nurse or bottle-feed more because a spoon irritates their inflamed gums. Others may do the opposite, eating more than usual because the counter pressure feels good. And babies who are still on the bottle or breast may begin feeding eagerly but pull back because the activity of sucking puts uncomfortable pressure on the gums and ear canals.

Since some signs of teething may actually be signs of an illness, please call your baby’s doctor if the above symptoms don’t ease after a few days or if they worsen.

Tips for Soothing Your Baby’s Sore Gums

Offer a teething ring

Try one made of firm rubber. The liquid-filled variety may break under the pressure of your baby’s chewing. If a bottle seems to do the trick, fill it with water. Prolonged contact with sugar from formula, milk or juice may cause tooth decay.

Rub your baby’s gums

Use a clean finger, moistened gauze pad or damp washcloth to massage your baby’s gums. The pressure can ease your baby’s discomfort.

Keep it cool

A cold washcloth or chilled teething ring can be soothing. However, don’t give your baby a frozen teething ring. Contact with extreme cold may be harmful.

Dry the drool

Excessive drooling is part of the teething process. To prevent skin irritation, keep a clean cloth handy to dry your baby’s chin.

Try an over-the-counter medicine

A homoeopathic medicinal product like Camilia^® Oral Solution can be used to relieve your baby’s teething pain and other associated minor symptoms such as irritability and swollen gums.

For further information on Camilia^® please visit www.camiliateething.co.uk . A homeopathic medicinal product used within the homeopathic tradition for the relief of teething pain and other minor symptoms associated with teething in babies and toddlers. Camilia Oral Solution contains Chamomilla vulgaris 9c, Phytolacca decandra 5c and Rheum 5c. Always read the label.