Never Take Your Healthy Teeth for Granted

Have your child's teeth just started to erupt, and now they are teething? This can bring on many new challenges for you as a parent, which is why you'll definitely want to know more about teething.

Teething Symptoms

Children will start to develop many symptoms as they start the teething process. They may be more irritable, have puffed cheeks, swollen gums, drool a lot more, have difficulty sleeping, and have a decreased appetite just to name a few. These symptoms show up a few days before and last until a few days after the tooth actually erupts from their gums, and will happen for each tooth that comes in. 

Teething Rash Signs

One complication that can come up when a child's teeth erupt is a teething rash. This is when they have rash symptoms around their mouth, which is different from rashes that appear elsewhere on the body. If your child does have rashes in places other than their face, it's a good idea to visit a doctor to determine what kind of viral infection it can be and to not just assume it is teething-related. For example, your child may have hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Teething Rash Treatment and Prevention

The ways to prevent a teething rash are the same as treating it. Your child is going to be more likely to develop a teething rash if their face is wet from teething. You can help deal with this by keeping their face dry while they are teething. It can even help to place socks over a baby's hands so that they do not scratch themselves on the face. There are also creams you can use on their face to help deal with a rash. 

You'll also want to clean anything that your baby is putting in their mouth when they are teething. These items can have bacteria on them, which can help cause a rash to develop or make a rash even worse in the end.

Teething Medications

You can give your child medication to help deal with the pain and discomfort of teething. For example, your dentist may recommend child-strength acetaminophen, which is tolerated well and helps deal with pain. If you don't want to use medicine, try using a clean washcloth with cold water on it, and massaging your baby's gums.  

Reach out to your local pediatric dentist if you have more questions about teething.