When your child begins getting their first teeth, they may experience some pain. Typically, a baby seems irritable and anxious. They require their parent’s comfort through this difficult time in life. It can be very confusing to experience pain without understanding why. It allows you to become more aware of the symptoms of natural teething and the benefits of a parents love in helping their child get through the pain.
What are the Symptoms of Teething?
The symptoms of teething can range from baby to baby. However, there are some generalized symptoms associated with teething that almost every baby goes through:
– Increase in saliva flow
– Inflammation of the gums
– Red cheeks
– Low-grade fever
– Increased thirst
The symptoms of teething can appear several weeks before you notice your baby is teething. You will be able to confirm the problem when your baby develops a little white bump under the gum, which is the tooth trying to poke through gum. Shortly after, you will see a thin white line on the gum surface, which is the enamel of your baby’s first tooth. This is commonly referred to as “breeding the teeth.”
When your baby is fussy from teething pain, taking them into a well-ventilated area may help. Getting fresh air, and a little bit of sunlight can help boost their mood and help relieve pain. You can also provide milk on a regular basis. The proteins in milk ensure the gums remain elastic, moist, and relaxed. Even though you want to provide milk on a regular basis, you do not want to overdo it, too much milk can cause a heaviness in the tummy, causing the development of a second problem that will make your baby fussier.
From the start of teething pain, you will want to use natural remedies to help your baby with the pain. Over-the-counter pain relief gel can harden the gums, making it more difficult for teeth to push through, increasing pain. Babies teeth easier on items like scraped licorice root, or flat teething ring to help with the pain.
A child’s teeth require a lot of care because the health of their first set of teeth will affect the health of their adult teeth later in life. The first tooth becomes visible around the age of six months old. Getting all of their teeth could take between a year to two years after the first tooth has seen. The time depends completely on the child and their individual development.
Unfortunately, many parents take baby teeth for granted because babies get a second set of teeth later in life. I know, I was one them and in a short order I had to re-evaluate this idea. From the moment the first tooth beings to erupt, good dental hygiene should begin but good eating habits too. Even a 100% fresh squeezed orange juice can do a lot of damage if your child is continuously sipping on it. It’s much better if a child is only given water to drink. Munching on cookies and crackers, drinking sugary juices and cordial creates and acidic environment in the mouth and it draws minerals out of the tooth making the dentin weak and prone to tooth decay. The first sign might just be a white spot on the tooth. That is a red flag but at that stage with good nutrition you can reverse this condition. You can read about the flexible whole foods dietary program pioneered by the head of research at the National Dental Association, Weston Price D.D.S. that proved 90-95% effective in halting cavities in Ramiel Nagel’s book: Cure Tooth Decay
It is important to start brushing those baby teeth as soon as they are out. There are a number of toothpastes on the market with xylitol as an active ingredient, which poses less risk than fluoride toothpaste. You can make your own tooth paste as well, mixing coconut oil with baking soda to form a paste. By instilling good oral hygiene, you are setting your child up for a lifetime of being healthy and strong.
