What are the symptoms of teething?
The symptoms of teething vary from child to child. Because of these different experiences, parents and physicians often disagree as to the symptoms of teething and how painful it is. The list below shows symptoms that a teething baby may experience. While most parents usually agree that some or all of the symptoms below happened around the time of teething, it is still recommended that if your baby experiences any of these symptoms you check with your pediatrician to rule out other possible causes for the symptoms.
Irritability: As the sharp little tooth rises closer to the surface your baby’s gums may become increasingly more sore and painful, leading to your baby being very fussy. The pain and discomfort is most often worse during the first teeth coming in and later when the molars come in because of their bigger size. This is most often the case since babies become accustomed to the sensations of teething and learn to live with them. But you may find your baby may be fussy during the whole time that every tooth comes in. Every child reacts differently.
Drooling: From three to four months of age you may see your baby start drooling more often than normal. Teething stimulates drooling, which is often worse with some babies than others.
Coughing: The extra saliva can cause your baby to occasionally cough or gag. This is usually nothing to worry about as long as your baby seems fine and shows no signs of a cold or flu and does not run a high fever.
Chin rash: If your baby is a big drooler, the constant contact with saliva can cause the skin around the chin and mouth to become irritated. To help prevent this, gently wipe your baby’s mouth and chin periodically throughout the day.
Biting & gnawing: A baby that is teething will gnaw and gum down on anything she or he can get their mouth around. 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 coming in. This is why you may see your baby rubbing their cheeks or pulling at their ears. However, keep in mind that pulling at an ear can also be a sign of an ear infection.
Diarrhea: While this is a symptom that is disagreed upon by physicians, researchers and parents, most parents usually notice slightly looser bowel movements when a baby is teething. While the recent study done by the Children’s Hospital in Australia found this to be the most common symptom of teething, there are still many people that will agree and disagree with this recent study. It is believed that the most likely cause of this is the extra saliva swallowed, which then loosens the stool. Be sure and report any diarrhea to your doctor that lasts more than two bowel movements.
Low-grade fever: A fever is another symptom that doctors are sometimes hesitant to directly link with teething. But there are many parents who will disagree with this and find their baby gets a slight fever while teething. The best thing to do is be extra safe and notify your doctor if a fever last more than two days.
Not sleeping well: With teething pain happening during the day and night, you may find your child wakes more often at night when the pain gets bad enough. Most parents agree that the night waking happens more often during the first set of teeth and with the molars.
Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.): Some parents find that their baby will show signs of having a cold. Runny noses, coughing and general cold symptoms are believed to come from the baby having their hands in their mouth more often. Play it safe and always notify your doctor if symptoms such as this occur.
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