Teething

 

Children these days are prone to early development of their teeth. Your child may sprout his/her first tooth (usually at the lower center incisor) as early as the fourth month to a year, followed by:-

 

Teething age	Primary teeth	Teething age	Primary teeth
6–8 months	2 lower central incisors	12–16 months	4 front molars
8–12 months	4 upper incisors	16–20 months	4 canine teeth
12–15 months	2 lower lateral incisors	20–30 months	4 back molars

 

While your child is teething, you will need to be more alert of your child's feelings and symptoms. A child waiting for his/her tooth to break through may experience aching or numbness, or a heavy itch in the gum area. To ease that feeling, your child may start biting at the first thing he/she grabs in sight. You will need to make sure that the things your child puts in his/her mouth are clean or germ-free. Biting may result in diarrhea, which is a common reason when parents claim that their child gets diarrhea during teething.

 

Ways to ease your child's gum aching

 

• Give your child something to chew on, such as a teething ring kept in the fridge or a wet cold towel, to prevent your child from biting on dirty things.
• Gently massage your child's gums with your clean fingers.
• Give him a cup of cold drink or liquid food.
• If you are trying to feed your child to ease his/her teething pain (e.g. with digestives), you need to make sure that the child is sitting upright, while in the care of an adult.

 

Why baby teeth are important

 

A child's primary teeth are important to help the child chew, and to develop his pronunciation and speaking skills. Although primary teeth will eventually be replaced by permanent teeth, it is crucial to ensure your child's primary teeth are kept clean and healthy.

 

Ways to care for your child's teeth

 

• Before your child starts teething, feed him/her with some plain water to clean your child's mouth each time after milking. You should also clean his mouth with a cloth or cotton wipe at least once every day.
• Do not put food other than milk into your child's milk bottle, to avoid your child from depending on the bottle for any form of food.
• Do not let your child eat before he/she sleeps, to prevent your child's teeth from getting deformed.
• Choose non-sugary healthy foods for your child's diet.
• Train your child to brush and rinse his mouth when he reaches the age of a year and a half.
• Bring your child for his first dental check-up before the age of three and a half.

 

Teeth are an important tool for food intake, as well as the first step toward a healthy digestion system. So be sure your children's teeth are kept healthy!

 

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