It’s no secret that teething is a traumatic time in a baby’s life. If adults had to endure the pain of teething, we would certainly prove to be bigger babies than our kids. The process is unfortunately inevitable and all kids will eventually have a full set of their own pearly whites, but living through the process is the hardest part for everyone involved. Every baby will react differently when teething so the same tricks won’t necessarily work for all babies. However at some point anything is worth a try.
Understanding the Teething Process
Imagine a sharp pointy object slowly pushing its way through your soft skin, pushing so violently that it breaks the skin and still keeps on pushing! That is what every child goes through during the teething process. As parents it’s easy for us to forget that teething hurts. What we experience is our child’s behaviours dramatically shifting into something resembling an awful villain in a nightmare. Suddenly their nap schedules are unscheduled, their favourite food becomes intolerable and they reach decibels in their screaming you didn’t think we’re possible. Although we miss our well-natured babies, adjusting through this time is a “roll with the punches” part of being a parent. It’s important to not lose your cool no matter how much sleep you have lost or how many meals you end up wearing. It’s not their fault they are teething, they don’t really have a choice in the matter.
How to Ease the Pain of Teeth
Having cold things for your baby to have in their mouth has a great soothing effect. Either a frozen teething ring or some frozen fruit. Putting frozen fruit in a mesh bag designed specifically for babies to eat out of is a great way to encourage chomping and also provide a soothing cool feeling on their sensitive gums. And of course it’s a delicious nutritious snack!
Sometimes babies get fevered during the teething process. This can be hard on both baby and parent. It’s easy to panic when your baby has a fever because the source cannot always be easily pinpointed, but there is a good chance if your baby is otherwise healthy that teething is the culprit. When your baby has a fever try to give Tylenol or Advil to lower the temperature, and a cool refreshing bath is always a great extra step. Fevers are just part of the “fun” of teething, so it’s important not to panic.
Once you see some fresh new teeth pop through you can start to think about booking an appointment with a paediatric dentist at a family dental clinic. It’s important to use a paediatric dentist because little mouths are not always the easiest to maneuver around and it’s best left up to the experts. You should try to get your child into the paediatric dentist by age one, assuming they have teeth by then, in order to get them started on the right track. If your baby doesn’t have teeth by age one, it’s still important to come in for a checkup to keep an eye on their overall development.
